


The Impossible Year

by smac89



Series: The Yggdrasil Chronicles [4]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, past suicide attempts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2018-08-17 06:45:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 148,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8134174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smac89/pseuds/smac89
Summary: Two years later, Darcy and Loki have finally settled into something resembling normalcy with their eight children of assorted species. But when Steve Rogers asks Darcy for help dealing with Hydra, she can't find it in herself to say no. As if playing referee between the Avengers and her husband while tracking down dangerous alien technology isn't bad enough, two Infinity Stones get thrown into the mix, and an old enemy rears their head.





	1. Look Into My Eyes/It's Where My Demons Hide

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Here we are! Book 3 of the Yggdrasil Chronicles. (yes I know it's technically part 4, but Father of Monsters doesn't count as a book) Thank you for continuing to share this journey with me and I hope I can continue to meet your expectations. Just as a reminder, I am now on a new shift at work and I may not be able to update with the same frequency. Please be patient with me as I adjust to my new schedule.
> 
> Also, in keeping with tradition, the story title is taken from a Panic! At the Disco Song title. The chapter titles are taken from Imagine Dragons song lyrics.

Darcy was accustomed to having her phone ring at the most inopportune times. She had one brother on the West Coast, the other in Germany, a best friend who was a workaholic astrophysicist with no concept of normal business hours, and another best friend who happened to be a superhero who travelled around the planet saving people.

 

So she was not at all surprised when her phone rang in her pocket while she was in the middle of making meatballs for dinner. She sighed and looked over her shoulder. “Brenna? Can you get my phone? It’s in my back pocket.”

 

Brenna, Darcy’s handmaiden, wet nurse, and nanny extraordinaire, left off chopping tomatoes and circled the kitchen island to delicately slip Darcy’s phone out of her back pocket. She looked at the screen. “It is the school,” the Asgardian woman said, and held it to Darcy’s ear.

 

“Hello?” Darcy asked, pinning the phone between her ear and her shoulder.

 

_ “Mrs Lewis?” _ asked a female voice on the other end of the line.  _ “This is Alisha Gibbons, vice-Principal for Crestview Elementary School. I’m calling about your daughter.” _

 

Darcy sighed and headed for the sink to wash her hands. “Which one?” she asked.

 

_ “I beg your pardon?” _ the other woman asked.

 

“Which one?” Darcy repeated. “I have six daughters at your school right now.”

 

_ “Oh. Um, for Kari.” _

 

“What happened?” Darcy asked, drying her hands off.

 

_ “She got into an altercation with one of our teachers,” _ Alisha Gibbons replied.

 

Darcy grimaced. “Okay. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket. “Brenna, I gotta go to the school. Kari got called to the principal’s office.”

 

Brenna looked up in concern. “Is she okay?”

 

“I dunno,” Darcy replied. “You good to finish dinner on your own?”

 

“Of course, my lady,” Brenna assured her.

 

Darcy walked into the living room where Elden was dozing in his swing, dutifully watched by his half brother. Elden was twenty months old, but only appeared about three months old, thanks to his half-Jotun nature. Fenris was twenty-three months old, and appeared almost full-grown, thanks to the fact he was a wolf. A hyper-intelligent and magically enhanced wolf, but still a wolf.

 

“Fen, I’m going to the school to pick up Kari,” Darcy told her step-son. “She got in trouble again. You wanna come with?”

 

Fenris immediately got to his feet and trotted over. His head came up to Darcy’s waist and he weighed over 120 pounds. His shaggy coat was steel-gray with black markings on his face, ears, and legs. He wore a leather and silver collar that was more ornamental than functional.

 

Darcy grabbed Fenris’ service dog vest and leash from the coatrack (both of which were only used due to Pennsylvanian laws regarding dogs) and headed out the back door. The garage was behind the two-story farmhouse. The family’s main car was more a modified troop transport van than a passenger car, and was too large to fit in the garage. Their alternate vehicle was an SUV with bulletproof glass and only two car seats for when they didn’t need to cart all eight kids around.

 

Fenris rode in the front seat next to Darcy, the window rolled down so he could stick his head out. He might be hyper-intelligent and a person in his own right, but he was still a canine.

 

Their house was a good fifteen minutes outside of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, halfway up the low range of mountains that ringed the Cumberland Valley. They’d chosen to live here for the small-town feel, the privacy, and the attractiveness of the surrounding country.

 

When they reached the elementary school, Darcy took a minute to put the vest on Fenris and clip his leash on so no one would comment about him coming into the school with Darcy. Loki found it highly distasteful that Fenris had to conform to leash laws, but it was either that or tell people that Fenris was a magically constructed being from another planet.

 

Kari was waiting in the vice-principal’s office when Darcy and Fenris got there. Fenris immediately went up to his adopted sister and put his head in her lap, wagging his tail. Kari smiled faintly and scratched his ears.

 

Kari was rather petite for six years old, with silk-straight blue-black hair and dark green eyes. She had a spattering of freckles across her nose and the summer had darkened her skin to a warm golden color. Darcy didn’t know the actual birthdates of any of her adopted daughters, but they guessed that Kari was the youngest.

 

“Mrs Lewis,” Alisha Gibbons said, coming around her desk. “Thank you for coming.”

 

“What happened?” Darcy demanded, patting Kari comfortingly on the shoulder. The little girl ducked her head in embarrassment and said nothing.

 

“Well, at lunchtime, one of the teachers noticed that Kari’s packed lunch didn’t meet our school requirements,” Ms Gibbons began.

 

Darcy held up a hand. “Her name is  _ Kari _ , not  _ Kerry _ ,” she corrected. “And what do you mean, didn’t meet requirements?”

 

“There was no protein in her lunch,” Ms Gibbons explained.

 

“No protein?” Darcy echoed. “She had a whole avocado, a hard-boiled egg, and yoghurt.”

 

“She needed to have a meat,” Ms Gibbons insisted. “So Miss Davis took her lunch and gave her a school lunch, but Kari refused to eat it and became very rebellious and irate.”

 

Darcy looked in disbelief from Ms Gibbons, to Kari, and back. “What was the school lunch?” she asked, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

 

“Ham and cheese sandwich,” Ms Gibbons replied, sounding confused.

 

Darcy lowered her hand. “Okay. Well, did Miss Davis happen to know that Kari is  _ Jewish _ , and doesn’t eat pork, or meat and dairy together, which is why her lunch didn’t have any meat in it?”

 

Ms Gibbons blinked at Darcy a few times. “No, I don’t think she was aware of that…” she said nervously.

 

“And what exactly do you mean by ‘rebellious and irate’?” Darcy demanded.

 

“Miss Davis told me that Kari threw a fit and yelled at her,” Ms Gibbons replied, recovering her confidence. “Which is not acceptable behavior at our school.”

 

Darcy crossed her arms over her chest and gave Ms Gibbons an icy look. “Kari threw a fit and yelled at her,” she said flatly. “ _ Kari _ , who has never thrown a fit in her entire life.  _ Kari _ , who is  _ nonverbal _ and didn’t even make a sound when she broke her arm three months ago.  _ Kari _ , who is adopted and was abused by her former guardians, which included being denied food and who might have a strong reaction to having her food taken away. That Kari?”

 

Ms Gibbons stared at Darcy, her mouth slightly open. “Kari is nonverbal?” she asked in a weak voice.

 

Darcy pressed her lips together. “ _ Yes _ , she is,” she said tightly. “Which is why she was placed in Margo Summers’ classroom, because she only communicates through  _ sign language _ . Which is in her file, if you would have actually  _ read _ it.”

 

“Well, Miss Davis was not aware of that, and it is hardly her fault, seeing as how Kari is not in her class,” Ms Gibbons began, trying to recover.

 

Darcy held up her hand again, cutting the other woman off. “No,” she said flatly. “ _ Miss Davis _ did not have the right to take my daughter’s lunch away, or accuse her of being disobedient and ‘irate’. We have a waiver on file for the girls’ meals for religious purposes, and all the teachers should have been notified that Kari is non-verbal. Now, Kari is clearly upset about the whole situation, so I am taking her home. I expect that Miss Davis will be spoken to about the situation.”

 

She gave Ms Gibbons a pointed look. The vice principal nodded. “Yes, of course,” Ms Gibbons said weakly.

 

Darcy nodded back and held out her hand toward Kari. The little girl got to her feet and crossed over to take Darcy’s hand. With Kari on one side and Fenris on the other, Darcy marched out of the school. When they got to the car, she looked down at Kari.

 

“You know I’m not mad at you, right, baby?” she asked.

 

Kari peeked up at Darcy from under her bangs. She let go of Darcy’s hand so she could sign,  _ you’re not? _

 

“No,” Darcy said firmly. “You did the right thing, standing up for yourself, even to an adult. Miss Davis was wrong for trying to get you to eat non-Kosher. I’m proud of you, honey.”

 

Kari smiled and tilted her head up so Darcy could see her face. Her small hands were surprisingly nimble and clever.  _ I was scared _ , she told Darcy.

 

Darcy crouched to get on eye-level with her daughter. “Honey, never be scared to stand up for what’s important, even when the other person is bigger and stronger than you.” She hugged Kari and kissed the top of her head. “Are you hungry?”

 

Kari nodded emphatically. As petite as she was, she had the biggest appetite of all the girls. Darcy opened the car door and helped Kari up into it.

 

“We have chicken nuggets at home,” Darcy told her. “You want chicken nuggets?”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Loki returned home just before dinner. He’d been off-world, tracking down another lead on Hela. Loki’s oldest child had been frustratingly elusive to track down ever since her last attempt on Loki’s life, and information as to her whereabouts was getting fewer and further between. But Loki had made a promise to Angrboda, Hela’s mother, and to himself, not to give up until he brought Hela home safely.

 

In order to facilitate Loki’s personal quest, he and Darcy had created a Way that went from their basement to the Well of Fate, the home of the Disír, in order to allow him to use the Nexus, a centerpoint of interconnecting Ways housed and protected by the Disír. If the wrong people found out about the portal connecting earth the the Nexus, it could be devastating to galactic peace, so Darcy and Loki were very careful who they shared that information with.

 

Darcy was checking the sauce simmering on the stovetop when she felt the Way activate and dropped her spoon back into the pot. She knew she had a very narrow window to greet Loki before the girls discovered he was home, and it was all over, so she met him at the top of the basement stairs.

 

Loki caught Darcy around the waist, tugging her against him, and buried his face against her hair. “I missed you,” he murmured softly.

 

She looped her arms around his neck, burying the fingers of one hand in his jaw-length, black hair. “I missed you, too. How’d it go?”

 

“She was gone before I ever arrived,” Loki replied, and pulled back enough to kiss her deeply. She could taste his disappointment, but kissed him back with equal fervor.

 

“You’ll find her,” she told him when they could speak again. “I know you will.”

 

“Yes,” he agreed, but he looked tired. Darcy guessed that he hadn’t slept at all during the three days he had been gone, too focused on trying to find Hela. The half-Niflungar teenager was a powerful sorceress for her age, and had inherited much of Loki’s deviousness, making her difficult to track.

 

“Where are the children?” Loki asked, leaning down to place one last kiss against the corner of Darcy’s jaw.

 

“The girls are outside with Fenris,” Darcy told him. “Elden is in the living room.”

 

Loki moved away from Darcy into the living room, zeroing in on his son lying on his back on a handmade quilt, occupied by the mobile of toys hanging above him. Elden burbled happily at the sight of his father, raising his arms to be picked up, which Loki happily obliged.

 

Elden was not just Loki’s first-born son, he was also heir to the throne of Asgard, until such a time as Thor had children of his own. It was only Darcy’s status as a norn that had allowed them to live on earth, against the Allfather’s preferences. 

 

Elden was very clearly Loki’s son. He had the same jet-black hair and the same mouth, the same milk-pale skin and an identical nose. But his eyes were dark blue rather than Loki’s pale green.

 

Darcy knew that in his true form, Elden still strongly resembled Loki. But the masking spell Frigga and Loki had put on Elden just minutes after his birth would prevent anyone from ever seeing Elden as he truly was.

 

Which was a shame, because Darcy thought he was beautiful.

 

Loki cradled Elden in his arms with the ease of long practice. Indeed, in the first few months of his life, Loki had only relinquished Elden long enough for him to be fed. Darcy had eventually had to put her foot down because Elden  _ had _ to learn how to sleep in a crib.

 

Brenna, who had been standing watch over Elden, as was her primary job description, somehow managed to make a curtsy look graceful while wearing blue jeans. “My lord,” she greeted, inclining her head to Loki.

 

“Hello, Brenna,” Loki replied. “How has he been eating?”

 

“Ravenously, my lord,” Brenna said with a smile.

 

“Very good,” Loki said with a smirk, looking back down at his son.

 

It was necessary for Elden to have a wet nurse, as Darcy was unable to produce the needed nutrients to breastfeed him, seeing as he and Darcy were of different species. The pregnancy had also been hard on Darcy, requiring her to be treated with super-nutrients to prevent Elden from draining Darcy’s body to fulfill his needs. Darcy had managed to stop feeling like an inadequate mother, but only once it became clear that Elden was able to differentiate between mother and wet nurse.

 

Darcy went to the back door and stuck her head out. “Papa’s home!” she called out, and the girls and Fenris immediately abandoned their games to race towards the door. Darcy got out of the way of the stampede just in time.

 

Leaving the girls (and Fenris) to greet their father, Darcy and Brenna finished the final touches for dinner. With ten mouths to feed (three of them Asgardian), dinner was a formidable affair. Darcy was just grateful she had access to the Sisterhood’s funds to pay for her grocery bill.

 

Dinner was a chaotic affair, the girls all trying to bring Loki up to date on the days he missed and Elden vying for attention from Loki’s lap. Darcy watched the weariness gradually drop from Loki’s face, the lines disappearing from the corners of his green eyes. Loki may have been a prince, a warrior, and a statesman, but here, in their modest farmhouse on earth in the middle of the Pennsylvanian countryside, here he was home.

 

XxxXxxX

 

“Loki.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“When was the last time you actually slept?”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“ _ Loki _ .”

 

“Darcy, I am perfectly capable of caring for myself, thank you.”

 

Darcy shifted enough to look over her shoulder at him, completely unconvinced. “Let me guess. It was the night before you left here.”

 

He trailed his cool fingers down her bare back, making her shiver. “I can go far longer without sleep than you can,” he told her.

 

“Not three days,” Darcy protested. She shivered again when she felt his mouth on her spine, right between her shoulderblades. “Loki,  _ focus _ .”

 

“The girls have school in the morning,” Loki replied, his voice slightly muffled. “I will sleep then.”

 

“What if  _ I _ want to sleep?” Darcy protested.

 

“You may sleep in the morning, also. This is why you have a handmaiden.”

 

“ _ Loki _ .”

 

Loki shifted enough to allow her to roll over and face him. “Do you wish me to stop?” he asked, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

 

“...No,” Darcy admitted. Despite having eight children of varying species, they had only been together for about two and a half years, and were very much still in the honeymoon phase (which they had never gotten. Unless two and a half months stuck in 1947 counted).

 

“Very well, then,” Loki said, bending to kiss her mouth.

 

The bond between was not  _ quite _ as irresistible as it once had been, not  _ quite _ as all-consuming. Darcy had been warned it would temper itself in time, but it was still there, its pull as strong as gravity, keeping them in endless orbit around each other. Even a separation of only three days was difficult, and reunion was a relief.

 

Loki’s skin was significantly cooler than Darcy’s, but that was okay, Darcy had always prefered cooler temperatures. His mouth on her skin made her shiver, lighting her nerves up with sensation. He was particularly fond of the pulse point in her throat, delighting in leaving marks there he would have to heal before the left their bed the next morning.

 

Loki moved lower, sucking bruises along her collarbone, then even lower, trailing open-mouthed kisses along her breasts. Darcy sighed happily and buried her fingers in his hair, fingernails scraping against his scalp.

 

That was, of course, the moment her phone chose to ring.

 

Loki ignored it, continuing his ministrations, but Darcy had a unique ring for each of her important contacts, and she recognized this one.

 

“Loki,” Darcy tried to protest, tightening her fingers in his hair. “Loki, stop. It’s Steve.”

 

“It can wait,” Loki muttered, and deftly distracted her with his tongue. Her cell phone stopped ringing and was silent for a few seconds before starting to ring again.

 

“ _ Loki _ ,” Darcy whined. “It could be important.”

 

Loki heaved a deep sigh and cast himself down beside her on the bed, burying his face in his arms. Darcy rolled over and snatched her phone up. “Yes?” she answered, trying not to sound breathless.

 

_ “Hey, are you home?” _ Steve asked instead of a greeting.

 

“Uh, yeah, why?” Darcy asked, confused.

 

_ “You know how we’ve been hunting Hydra for the last two years?” _

 

“Yes,” Darcy said slowly.

 

_ “We just got intel that Hydra’s got access to dangerous alien technology, and we could use some help.” _

 

“Isn’t Thor with you?” Darcy asked, yanking the sheet up to cover herself and sitting up. “You know he’s not bad with alien technology, despite what Stark says.”

 

_ “It was his idea to ask you. Well, not you, actually. Loki _ . _ ” _

 

Darcy frowned. In the last twenty months, none of the Avengers, including the ones she had close relationships with, had made any attempt to contact Darcy other than over the phone. Loki had a very delicate relationship with the Avengers in which they each pretended the other didn’t exist. So for Steve to outright ask for help…

 

“What kind of alien technology?” Darcy asked, looking at Loki over her shoulder. His face was turned toward her now, listening with a faint crease between his dark brows.

 

_ “It’s the scepter,” _ Steve said grimly.

 

Darcy blinked. “The what now?”

 

Steve sighed impatiently.  _ “The scepter Loki used during the Tesseract incident. The one that he used to mind-control Clint and Dr Selvig.” _

 

“Oh, shit,” Darcy whispered. 

 

Loki frowned deeper. “What is it,  _ elskede _ ?” he demanded. Darcy shook her head at him.

 

_ “Loki probably knows more about it than anyone else we know,” _ Steve went on.  _ “Sam and Maria Hill are on their way to your house now to brief you on the situation. They should be there in an hour _ . _ ” _

 

“An  _ hour _ ?” Darcy yelped. “Steve, it’s in the middle of the night!”

 

_ “I know, and I’m sorry, but time is critical right now,” _ Steve said apologetically.  _ “I’d come myself, but I’m halfway over the Atlantic Ocean at the moment _ .”

 

“You’re fucking lucky you’re my best friend, Rogers,” Darcy growled, leaning over the side of the bed to look for her bra. “I mean, cmon man. It’s a school night.”

 

_ “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” _ Steve told her.

 

“Dude, you’re not asking,” Darcy retorted. “Fine. We’ll be ready in an hour.” She hung up the phone and put it back on the nightstand. 

 

“What did he want?” Loki demanded again. When Darcy tried to get out of bed, he reached over and grabbed her wrist. “ _ Darcy _ .”

 

“Apparently Hydra’s got their hands on the scepter used during the Tesseract incident and the Avengers want you to consult,” Darcy said in a rush, extricating herself and picking her bra up off the floor. She turned around to look at Loki and found he’d gone a sickly grayish color.

 

“The scepter,” he echoed in a strangled voice.

 

Darcy froze in place. “Yeah,” she said slowly.

 

Loki stumbled out of bed. He, unlike Darcy, was still wearing pants, preserving his modesty as he caught himself against the wall. The muscles in his shoulders bunched and knotted with tension when he turned his back on Darcy.

 

“Loki?” she asked uncertainly. “Babe, what is it?”

 

Loki didn’t reply, his breathing growing ragged. He pushed away from the wall, took two steps, and then bolted for the closet, slamming the door closed behind him. Darcy lowered herself back onto the bed.

 

“Shit,” she whispered.

 

She left Loki alone to gather his thoughts while she got dressed, but when he still hadn’t emerged forty-five minutes later, Darcy went and knocked on the door.

 

“Loki,” she called. “Can I come in?” There was no reply. She tried the handle, but it wouldn’t turn. There wasn’t a lock on the door, but Loki was more than capable of barricading the door with magic.

 

Darcy ran her fingers through her hair. Loki hadn’t had a panic attack or flashback in almost two years. He avoided speaking about the Tesseract incident like the plague, so Darcy was unsure what memory had triggered him. She had not seen or interacted with him at all during that time, so she didn’t even know anything about the scepter except that it was some kind of mind-control weapon doohickey.

 

She hesitated at the closet door for a few minutes until the security system told her that someone had turned off the main road into their mile-long private road leading to the house. Darcy sighed and left their bedroom. She turned on the coffee machine and pulled out the half of an apple cake leftover from dinner. As both a norn and a Jew, hospitality was extremely important, even for unexpected (and unwanted) guests.

 

The click of nails against hardwood floor heralded Fenris’ arrival. He was a light sleeper, and had awoken at Darcy’s movements in the kitchen. He cocked his head at her, ears pricked.

 

“Some people are coming to talk to your father,” she told him. “He didn’t take it very well.”

 

Fenris whined faintly and looked at the master bedroom door. “No,” Darcy replied. “We’d better leave him alone right now. I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”

 

Fenris blew out a canine sigh and plopped onto his hindquarters, only to stand up again a moment later when the crunch of gravel under tires was heard in the front of the house. Darcy headed to the front door, her step-son at her side, and stepped out onto the porch.

 

A shiny black SUV was parked in the driveway at the side of the house, and a dark-haired woman was just getting out of the driver’s side. She wore a black t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and fitted blue jeans with combat boots. She held a tablet computer in one hand.

 

Sam Wilson got out of the passenger side. He and Darcy had met once, about two years ago, after he’d helped Steve stop Hydra from launching Project Insight. He and Darcy had exchanged a couple of emails since, mostly dealing with Steve’s complete inability to pace himself and slow down.

 

Darcy waited for both of them to approach, one arm wrapped around her stomach and her other hand on Fenris’ neck. The woman approached first, pausing at the steps up to the porch.

 

“Darcy Lewis?” she asked politely.

 

“Maria Hill?” Darcy retorted.

 

The woman held out her hand. “Yes. I run security and operations logistics for the Avengers.”

 

Darcy didn’t take her hand, but she did gesture towards both of them. “Come inside. I’ve got coffee on. Sam. Good to see you again.”

 

“You too, Darcy,” Sam replied easily. “How’re the kids?”

 

“Fine,” Darcy said flatly.

 

Fenris would not let either of them inside until both had been thoroughly inspected. Maria Hill offered her knuckles for him to sniff as if he was a normal dog, but Fenris paid more attention to the gun concealed under her jacket.

 

“Leave that in the car,” Darcy instructed, gesturing towards Hill. “He won’t let you inside carrying a weapon.”

 

“Smart dog,” Hill said dryly, stepping off the porch and removing the gun from the holster.

 

Fenris bristled at the inadvertent insult, hackles rising and teeth baring. Darcy put her hand on his shoulder and he subsided.

 

“His name is Fenris,” Darcy said mildly. “He’s a wolf, not a dog. And he’s  _ our _ head of security.”

 

“He’s also probably smarter than I am,” Sam told Hill. “So I wouldn’t call him a dog again.”

 

“I see,” Hill said, eying Fenris for a moment. She put her gun in the car and only then did Fenris step aside to allow them to enter the house.

 

Darcy led them into the kitchen where four cups of coffee and four slices of apple cake waited at the table. Hill looked around the kitchen, tapping her tablet against her thigh. 

 

“Where is Loki?” she asked.

 

“He’ll be out in a minute,” Darcy replied smoothly. “In the meantime, you can tell me what’s going on.”

 

They sat down at the table, and Darcy wrapped her hands around her mug, pulling it towards her but not drinking from it. 

 

“The scepter was in SHIELD custody after the Tesseract incident and we were unable to recover it before exposing Hydra,” Hill explained, ignoring both her coffee and her cake. “Hydra was able to take it from the secure location it was being stored at.”

 

“Experimented on, you mean,” Darcy corrected.

 

Hill gave her a look. “We’ve just discovered intelligence that suggests Hydra continued those experiments on their own, but we’ve been unable to pinpoint a location. We’re hoping Loki can advise us on how to track the scepter, and what exactly it’s capable of, to give us a better idea as to what Hydra is using it for.”

 

“It houses an Infinity Stone.”

 

At Loki’s voice behind her, Darcy turned to look at her husband. He was wearing a shirt now, a threadbare t-shirt he used when working on one of his many projects. It was a charcoal gray color, and faded letters across his chest spelled “The voices made me do it.”

 

When Darcy registered his words, her heart sank. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said flatly. “Which one?”

 

Loki stepped into the kitchen, his gaze fixed on the guests and not Darcy. “The mind stone,” he said in a cold, dead voice.

 

Darcy sighed. “Figures.” She turned to look at Hill and Sam. Both of them were on high alert, staring at Loki suspiciously. Loki took the seat next to Darcy, resting his elbows on the table.

 

“What do you know about the scepter?” Hill asked, staring at Loki as if he was a snake that would strike the moment she looked away.

  
Loki stared flatly back at her. “I am quite familiar with it,” he told her dryly. “After all, it was used on me.”


	2. I Took The Path That You Would Never Want For Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No notes, sorry, in a rush, please enjoy!

Sam leaned back in his chair, away from Loki, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was used on you?” he echoed, shooting Hill a sidelong look.

 

Darcy reached over under the table, unseen by their guests, and rested her hand on Loki’s thigh. He dropped one of his hands to interlace their fingers, holding tight.

 

“Yes,” he said in a flat voice. “Thanos used it to ensure my cooperation.”

 

Hill tilted her head. “Thanos?” she questioned. She tapped her tablet a couple of times. “The alien that allegedly provided the Chitauri army during the Tesseract incident, correct?”

 

“ _ Allegedly _ ?” Darcy repeated sharply. “You think  _ Loki _ was able to drum up an alien army with space whales out of nowhere?”

 

“I’m not saying that,” Hill replied. “I’m just saying that we’ve had no intel on Thanos other than your report and Thor’s. No contact, no evidence, nothing.”

 

“It’s because you don’t have the Tesseract anymore,” Darcy told her. “Earth doesn’t have anything he wants.”

 

“Hmm,” Hill said pointedly, giving Darcy a sharp look.

 

Sam raised a hand. “I got a question,” he announced, still looking hard at Loki. “According to the report, you were still under mind-control by this Skuld person during the Tesseract incident, right? So why’d Thanos have to ‘ensure your cooperation’?”

 

Loki squeezed Darcy’s hand a little tighter. She could tell that talking about this was about as easy as pulling his own teeth, but he refused to show weakness in front of strangers.

 

“Thanos was not aware of the extent of Skuld’s control,” he replied tightly, staring evenly back at Sam. He looked back at Hill. “The Mind Stone was used to form a mental leash, if you will, between myself and Thanos’ lieutenant, in order for them to monitor my every move, even to punish misdoings.”

 

Sam frowned. “So when you...failed,” he said slowly. “Did they...punish you?”

 

Loki swallowed. “Yes,” he said, and left it at that.

 

Sam looked between Loki and Darcy for a moment. “Oh,” he said softly, crossing his arms again.

 

“We need to know exactly what the Stone is capable of, to its full extent,” Hill interjected, taking control of the conversation. “We need to know if you’re aware of a way to track it, the way we tracked the Tesseract. Any information you have would be… appreciated.”

 

Loki blinked, looked down for a moment, and then looked back up. “No,” he said, and took a deep breath.

 

Darcy looked up at Loki, keeping her surprise off her face. She didn’t say anything, wanting to present a united front to Hill and Sam, but she was caught off-guard. She honestly didn’t know why Loki was refusing to help them.

 

Hill put her tablet on the table and folded her hands together. “Given your… history… with the Avengers, I really don’t think it’s in your best interests to refuse to cooperate,” she said. “Regardless of whether or not you were under some kind of brainwashing during the time of the Incident, you were still involved, which means--”

 

“I am not refusing to help you,” Loki interrupted, tilting his head slightly. 

 

“I think you were pretty clear when you said ‘no,’” Hill replied sarcastically.

 

“I would be more than happy to assist you,” Loki told her. “I do not desire Hydra to have an Infinity Stone any more than you do. But I will not help you from here. If you desire to hunt Hydra down and take the Stone by force, then I will enter the battlefield with your Avengers.”

 

Hill leaned backwards, her eyebrows arching upwards. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said.

 

“You would only have come to me as a last resort, so you must be truly desperate,” Loki told Hill. “If you wish me to give you the information you seek, it will only be on the condition that I accompany the Avengers on this quest.”

 

Darcy squeezed Loki’s hand and leaned towards him. “Are you sure that is a good idea?” she asked him in the First Tongue.

 

He looked down at her. “Do you wish to raise our children in a world where Hydra has an Infinity Stone?” he asked in the same language.

 

Darcy grimaced. “Not particularly.” But her heart sank, because she knew that if Loki was leaving to help the Avengers, then she was, too. She hated the idea of leaving her kids, for any amount of time, but leaving Loki to face his traumatic memories and PTSD was not an option.

 

He nodded. “Even so.” He turned expectantly back to Hill.

 

She shook her head. “That’s not a decision I can make. I need to talk to Captain Rogers.”

 

Darcy gestured. “Go ahead.”

 

Hill pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and got to her feet, leaving the kitchen. For a moment, Darcy, Loki, and Sam sat in awkward silence, and then Sam leaned forward, his eyes on Fenris. “Hey,” he said, talking directly to the wolf. “I’m Sam. We haven’t officially met.” He extended a hand toward Fenris, who solemnly placed his paw in Sam’s hand to shake. Sam looked up at Darcy. “How old is he, again?”

 

“Just about two years,” Darcy replied.

 

Sam smiled and looked back at Fenris. “You’re a big guy, huh? They must feed you good around here.”

 

Fenris nodded, a serious expression on his face, and Sam chuckled. “We had great danes growing up,” he told Fenris. “And I don’t think any of them got as big as you.”

 

Fenris cocked his head, pricking his ears forward. Sam held out his hand experimentally, and Fenris nudged it with his nose. Only then did Sam knuckle Fenris between his ears gently.

 

Loki tilted his head in an almost identical manner as Fenris. “He likes you,” he observed, a faint crease between his brows.

 

“I’m pretty good with kids,” Sam replied easily. “Got a gaggle of nieces and nephews. Thing about kids, you treat them with respect, treat them like people instead of tiny destroying machines, and they respond really well to that.”

 

“That is true,” Loki agreed, leaning back in his chair and eying Sam curiously for a moment. “You are the one with the artificial wings.”

 

Sam nodded. “That’s me.”

 

The corner of Loki’s mouth turned upwards. “I would dearly like to examine them. Human ingenuity is fascinating to me. We would not have thought to create something so reckless on Asgard.”

 

Sam raised his eyebrows. “This coming from the brother of the man who flies around with a magic hammer.”

 

“Yes, but you are human,” Loki insisted. “You are fragile and without innate powers. If your wings fail you, you are doomed.”

 

Sam shrugged. “When you put it that way…”

 

“If I could understand their workings, I might be able to recreate your wings with magic,” Loki said, seeming to get caught up with the idea. “To make them more intuitive, to respond to your every thought.”

 

Sam put his hands up. “Whoa, slow down there, slick. Let’s not get carried away. I like my wings the way they are, and no offense, but I’d prefer not to rely on magic to keep me up in the air. I’m happy with good ol’ science.”

 

“Magic is simply science you do not understand,” Loki retorted, but didn’t press the issue.

 

Hill came back into the kitchen and held her phone out to Darcy. “He wants to speak with you,” she said tersely.

 

Darcy took the phone. “Yo,” she said.

 

_ “Do you really think this is a good idea?” _ Steve asked.

 

“If you’re dealing with an Infinity Stone, you can use all the help you can get, and Loki and I are kinda Infinity Stone experts,” Darcy replied.

 

_ “The last time you got involved with an Infinity Stone, it mysteriously disappeared,” _ Steve said sarcastically.

 

“The Tesseract was too dangerous to leave on earth and you know it,” Darcy retorted. “It’s safe where it is.”

 

_ “So you  _ did _ have something to do with it,” _ Steve accused.

 

“Drop it, Rogers. You want our help, we’re coming with you,” Darcy said.

 

Loki tilted his head again and looked down at her. “We?” he echoed in the First Tongue.

 

Darcy pulled the cell phone away from her face. “We’ll discuss that in a minute,” she told him in the same language.

 

Steve sighed over the phone.  _ “Thor and I are gonna be wheels down in four hours. Maria and Sam can take you back to the Tower and we’ll talk more there, okay?” _

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Darcy replied, and handed the phone back Hill, who put it to her ear.

 

“We?” Loki said again in the First Tongue.

 

“You had a panic attack at the  _ mention  _ of the scepter,” Darcy told him bluntly. “You need someone to make sure your head is right. You really want that person to be Thor?”

 

Loki wrinkled his nose. “You make a fair point. But I do not want to put you in danger.”

 

Darcy gave him a flat look. “I have been on the front lines of more wars than you have, my love.”

 

Loki sighed. “The children?”

 

Darcy pulled out her cell phone. “I will ask my mother to come help Brenna while we are gone. If you are sure you want to go, then I am going with you.”

 

Loki sighed and nodded, gesturing with his free hand. “Very well.”

 

Hill put her phone back in her pocket. “We have a helicopter waiting at the Carlisle Airport to take us back to New York City,” she announced. “How soon can you pack a go bag?”

 

Darcy hit her mother’s contact icon and held the phone up to her ear. “We’ve already got bags packed,” she told Hill. Despite being almost one in the morning, her mother answered on the fourth ring.

 

“‘Lo?” Joanna mumbled groggily.

 

“Hey, Mom,” Darcy said, getting to her feet and leaving the kitchen.

 

“Darce. Everything okay?” Joanna asked, sounding marginally more awake.

 

“Yeah, sort of. Um, Loki and I have to leave town. Steve needs our help tracking down some alien technology. It’s really last minute. Is there anyway you can come down and help Brenna out while we’re gone?”

 

In the last two years, Joanna had decided to retire after over 30 years in the Philadelphia School District, and had taken a position as a part-time substitute teacher, to give her more time with her grandchildren.

 

“What time is it?” Joanna muttered. “Almost one. D’you need me to come now?”

 

“No, in the morning is fine, if you can. If you can’t, I can see if one of the other norns can hang out.”

 

“No, no, I can do it,” Joanna replied quickly. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Will you be gone already?”

 

“Yeah, our ride wants us to leave asap. We’re just gonna tell the girls and Brenna, I guess. Thanks, Mom.”

 

“Sure, anytime, sweetie.”

 

Darcy hung up and slipped her phone back in her pocket. Now came the unpleasant part. Darcy went to the nursery and knocked lightly before easing the door open. Brenna slept in the nursery with Elden for convenience’s sake. The Asgardian woman was already awake by the time Darcy stepped into the room.

 

“My lady?” Brenna murmured, sitting up. “Is something wrong?”

 

“Loki and I have to leave town unexpectedly,” Darcy whispered. “The Avengers need a hand tracking down some alien technology.” She drifted over to the crib where Elden slept. He was actually awake, preoccupied with trying to grab his toes through the sleep sack he was wearing. “Hi, baby,” Darcy murmured, reaching down to pick him up. She turned back to Brenna with Elden in her arms.

 

“My mom is going to come in the morning to help you out with the girls,” she told Brenna.

 

“That is not necessary, my lady,” Brenna insisted, getting out of bed. She stood a good five inches taller than Darcy, with flame-red hair, and was built like a Valkyrie. “I am perfectly capable of caring for the children alone.”

 

“Maybe, but you don’t have to,” Darcy told her. Elden grabbed a fistful of her hair and shoved it into his mouth, sucking furiously. Darcy carefully fished her hair out of his mouth and retrieved his pacifier from the crib. She carried him out with her back to the kitchen, Brenna on her heels.

 

“Call the school in the morning and tell them the girls won’t be coming in today,” Darcy instructed. She shifted Elden so he was upright against her shoulder. He stared near sightedly at Hill and Sam, completely unafraid of the strangers.

 

“Babe, can you get the girls up?” Darcy asked Loki. “I don’t want to leave without telling them.”

 

In the last two years, Darcy and Loki and both made trips off-world, but never at the same time. The girls had always had at least one parent at home with them. The girls had been rescued from the Red Room in 1947, and had a number of attachment issues due to past abuse, so this might not go well. Darcy didn’t particularly  _ want _ to leave her children for however long it took them to track the Mind Stone down, but the other option was to let Loki go alone and she was pretty sure Thor wouldn’t be capable of talking Loki down from a full-on flashback.

 

There was a pad of paper on a magnet on the fridge, and Darcy jotted down a list of things for her mom while she bounced Elden in her other arm. He continued to make grabs at her hair despite being occupied by his pacifier, and Darcy had to lean her head out of his reach.

 

“So this is Elden, huh?” Sam asked, coming up to Darcy and leaning over to look at the infant. “Damn. He does look just like his dad. Your eyes, though.”

 

“Yeah, apparently Asgardian genetics are pretty strong,” Darcy replied.

 

“He’s almost two, right?” Sam said.

 

“Yeah. He’s aging slower than humans, though,” Darcy told him. “We’re figuring it’s about a five to one ratio. Ish.”

 

Sam raised his eyebrows. “That’s a long time to be changing diapers.”

 

Darcy nodded toward Brenna. “That’s why we have her.” She finished her list just as Loki herded the girls into the kitchen, forcing Hill and Sam into the living room to make room.

 

“Mama?” Astra asked, rubbing her eyes. “What is it? What happened?” After living in America for almost two years, the girls had a pretty good grasp on English, with only faint accents.

 

Kari glommed onto Loki’s leg. She was still shorter than his waist, and didn’t seemed inclined to grow at the same rate as her sisters, who were now all half a head taller than she was. Loki bent and picked her up easily, and she settled her head on his shoulder.

 

“Papa and I have to go away for a little while,” Darcy announced to her still-groggy daughters. “We don’t know exactly how long we’re going to be gone. Brenna and Grandma Joanna are going to take care of you while we’re gone.”

 

“Why are you leaving?” Tyra asked, frowning up at Darcy. She had a strong Mongolian influence, with coarse black hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. 

 

“A friend of ours needs our help,” Darcy told her. “But it’s going to be okay, because we’re going to call you every day that we can, and we’ll come home as soon as possible.”

 

Gyda yawned widely and put her head down on Astra’s shoulder. “Can we come, too?” she asked.

 

“You need to continue your studies,” Loki said, patting Kari’s back. “Even though we are not here, all of you must continue to do your best.”

 

“Do you  _ have _ to leave?” Tyra pressed. Erika and Sylvi both still looked too asleep to really register what was going on. Darcy wanted to make sure the girls were fully awake and fully aware, which is why she told Brenna to keep them home in the morning. They’d be too tired after being up in the middle of the night.

 

“We wouldn’t leave unless it was really, really important,” Darcy replied. Elden had stopped trying to grab her hair and was beginning to droop, molding his body against Darcy’s chest. Like Loki, he didn’t have much in the way of body heat, but the feeling of him dozing against her made her decision to go with Loki even harder. She was really,  _ really _ gonna miss her kids.

 

“Are you taking Eldie?” Gyda asked, using the girls’ nickname for Elden.

 

Darcy put her hand on Elden’s back. “No,” she said softly. “He has to stay here with you guys. Papa and I will be very busy, and we’re not gonna be able to watch him, too.”

 

Erika clawed her bushy, curly hair out of her face and looked up at Darcy. “You should take Fen,” she announced. “He can keep you safe.”

 

Darcy blinked and looked down at Fenris, who wagged his tail, ears pricked forward. “Um,” she said. She looked over at Loki, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. “No,” Darcy said firmly. “He’s still just a kid.”

 

“He matured far faster than we both anticipated,” Loki pointed out. “He is hardly a child.”

 

Fenris barked softly, rising to all fours, his tail wagging furiously. It was very clear what he thought about the matter.

 

“He could get hurt,” Darcy insisted.

 

“He can stay with you,” Loki replied. “You can keep each other safe. I think it is high time he saw battle.”

 

Fenris bounced his front paws excitedly and barked again. Despite not being able to speak, he was surprisingly expressive, and Darcy knew exactly what he would say if he could. Darcy narrowed her eyes at him and he sat back on his haunches, his tail wagging a little slower.

 

“Darcy, I saw battle when I was younger than his equivalent,” Loki told her. “He may have my aspect, but he is also still a wolf. He has a predator’s instinct.”

 

“I  _ know _ ,” Darcy retorted, rolling her eyes at him. She pointed her finger at Fenris. “Fine. But you are staying with me the whole time, and you do exactly as I say. Do you understand me, young man?”

 

Fenris barked again and nodded gravely, but his tail betrayed his excitement. Darcy looked up at Loki. “Got any more bright ideas?” she asked sarcastically.

 

XxxXxxX

 

Fenris actually did better about the helicopter ride than Loki did, who still did not like any kind of human-made aircraft, and the flight from Carlisle, Pennsylvania to New York City was only an hour and a half long. The helipad was on the roof of the tower, and there was no one waiting for them when they disembarked.

 

“This way,” Hill instructed, gesturing towards the elevators. Fenris bounded forward excitedly, remembered himself, and then measured his pace with Darcy, who rested her hand on his shoulders, burying her fingers in the heavy ruff of fur around his neck.

 

Loki paused on the way to the elevators, looking out at the city, a blank expression on his face. Before Darcy or the others could say something, he resumed walking and easily caught up with them.

 

Once they were inside the elevator, Jarvis’ dry voice played through the speakers. “Welcome back to Stark Tower, Miss Lewis.”

 

“Thanks, Jarvis,” Darcy replied. Fenris looked around the elevator and snuffled for a moment, and then whined, looking up at Loki with a forlorn expression.

 

“Artificial intelligence,” Loki explained to his son. “It controls the entire building.”

 

Fenris’ ears swiveled forward and he tilted his head, tongue lolling from his mouth. “Yeah,” Darcy agreed. “I think it’s pretty cool, too.”

 

Hill pretended not to pay attention to them, her expression bored. Sam looked from Darcy to Fenris to Loki, and then nodded slowly to himself. The elevators opened to floor 101 with a cheery ding.

 

“I want to make it abundantly clear that I did not approve this, and I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Stark said before anyone was able to step out of the elevator. He was standing in the middle of the living area directly in front of the elevators, a glass tumbler in one hand that had about an inch of liquor in it.

 

Hill and Sam both stepped off the elevator. “Take it up with Rogers,” Hill said dismissively. “He’s the one who approved it.”

 

Darcy exited the elevator first, Fenris at her side. Loki followed her, staying to her left and just behind her. Stark pointed at Fenris.

 

“I didn’t say they could bring pets,” he said loudly.

 

Fenris’ hackles rose and he bared his teeth. Darcy tightened her fingers in his ruff, giving a slight tug as a warning. It was Loki who spoke.

 

“Fenris is a highly intelligent magical construct,” he said mildly. “He may be a wolf, but he is a person in his own right. I would advise against calling him a pet.”

 

“Doesn’t matter,” Stark said dismissively. “No dogs.”

 

“Technically, he’s a wolf,” Darcy said sharply. “And don’t talk about my step-son like that.”

 

Stark narrowed his eyes. “ _ Step-son _ ?” he echoed in disbelief.

 

“Fenris is Loki’s offspring,” Darcy told him. “Ergo, my step-son.”

 

“You have  _ got _ to be kidding me,” Stark blurted, staring at Fenris. Fenris narrowed his eyes back at Stark and growled deep in his throat.

 

“Behave,” Darcy warned Fenris, and the wolf stopped growling, but his expression didn’t soften.

 

“Regardless of Loki’s… proclivities,” Stark said, waving his tumbler in one hand. “I want it noted that I am officially protesting his presence here. I thought the idea was to  _ ask _ him what he knew.  _ Not _ bring him here. To my tower. Do you have any idea what the insurance premiums are?”

 

“I have no intentions of causing any damage to your precious tower,” Loki said sarcastically.

 

Natasha Romanov appeared from a side hallway. “That’s reassuring,” she said dryly. “Maria. Sam.”

 

“Natasha,” Sam replied with a nod. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wet bar, clearly not intending to add anything else to this conversation.

 

Natasha nodded amiably at Darcy. “Hey. Good to see you. How’re the kids?”

 

“Good,” Darcy replied with a smile. Natasha smiled back and turned to Loki.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, why exactly did you insist on coming here instead of just giving us the information we needed?”

 

Loki stared evenly back at Natasha. “What guarantee do we have that you will be successful in recovering the Mind Stone?” he asked in a flat voice. “I am intimately familiar with its effects and I have no desire to leave its fate to chance. I will not entrust my family’s safety to any hands but my own.”

 

Natasha thought for a moment and then nodded. “Fair enough.”

 

Stark stared at her in shock. “No!” he exclaimed. “Not fair enough! Am I the only one who remembers the giant hole in the sky over this very tower? And how I almost  _ died _ ? And Barton getting mind-whammied by Frosty’s blue glowstick of destiny?”

 

“Don’t bring Clint into this,” Natasha told Stark. “He can speak up for himself.”

 

“Well, he is notably  _ not here _ , which speaks volumes, in my opinion,” Stark retorted. “That guy,” here he jabbed his finger at Loki, “Caused  _ billions _ in property damages. And lives. People  _ died _ . A lot of them. Including some good people. People I liked. And he’s just gonna waltz in here like he’s the god of second chances and you guys are  _ okay _ with that?”

 

“I’m not saying we don’t take precautions,” Natasha said, raising a hand. “But Loki does have certain… aptitudes that may be useful.”

 

“Aptitude for stabbing people in the back!” Stark protested.

 

“You know what,” Darcy interrupted loudly. “It’s been a really long night, and we really haven’t gotten any sleep. So maybe you should just show us our room and we can talk about this later.”

 

“That sounds like a good plan,” Natasha agreed.

 

Stark scowled. “Fine. Jarvis, show them their room.”

 

A light flashed in a side hallway. “If you would walk this way, Miss Lewis, Mr Odinson,” Jarvis said politely.

 

Darcy shouldered her duffel bag and looked up at Loki, who had a stony expression on his face. She elbowed him lightly in the side and he startled slightly.

 

“Your guest suite is next door to Dr Foster and Master Thor’s,” Jarvis informed them as they walked down the hall.

 

“Awesome,” Darcy replied. “Is Jane home?”

 

“Dr Foster is currently inside her residence, yes,” Jarvis told her.

 

Darcy nodded, but didn’t make a detour. Jane probably needed the sleep as much as Darcy did, and she wasn’t going to bother her friend. Darcy opened the door to the guest suite and looked around. The living, dining, and kitchen areas were all one large, open space, decorated in a minimalist theme with lots of white and stainless steel. Fenris immediately went to investigate the entire apartment.

 

Darcy put her bag down in the living room and started toward the kitchen, but Loki looked around briefly and made a bee-line for the bedroom. Darcy frowned and followed him, just in time to see the closet door click shut. Darcy sighed and knocked on the door.

 

“Babe, you okay?” she called softly. There was no reply. “Well, if you need anything, you let me know, okay?” Darcy said. Again she received no answer. Darcy sighed once more and returned to the kitchen. She was hungry, and she knew Fenris was probably hungry.

 

The kitchen had been hastily stocked with a variety of items, but clearly not with a Kosher diet in mind. There was a package of bacon in the deli drawer. There were, however, a couple of steaks that she put in a pan with some olive oil. Fenris liked his food lightly cooked and warm, and ate mostly meats with a rare starch or vegetable thrown in. For herself, Darcy found a box of granola and some yoghurt.

 

Once he was done inspecting the apartment, Fenris joined Darcy in the kitchen. He pointed his nose toward the bedroom and whined.

 

“He’s going through a lot, but I think he’ll be okay,” Darcy told him, stroking his ears. “This whole thing is bringing up some bad memories.”

 

Fenris sighed heavily, ears drooping. He plopped onto his hindquarters and looked up at Darcy with a questioning look. “Yeah, I noticed there was only one bedroom,” Darcy said. “You can share with us, or we can set you up on the couch. Your choice.”

 

Fenris thought for a moment, and then looked over at the couch. He gave a low huff, and then sneezed.

 

“Couch it is,” Darcy said, and flipped over the steaks. Back home, Fenris had his own space where he could escape to if the girls proved to be too high energy. He had an Asgardian interactive hologram display Loki had adapted to make it easier for him to use, loaded with a number of books and texts. Fenris loved to read and, seeing as how he was unable to attend school like the girls, both Loki and Darcy encouraged his interests.

 

Once the steaks were done, Darcy cut them into bite-sized pieces and put his plate on the table so he could sit in a chair and eat with her. Forcing him to eat on the ground like a pet was demeaning, in his parent’s opinion, so he always ate at the table.

 

“I miss your sisters,” Darcy told him. “And Elden.”

 

Fenris stopped eating and whined, wagging his tail. “I know you miss them, too,” Darcy said. “This is the first time you’ve been away from them, isn’t it? It’s hard. I just hope this is going to be worth it. We have to find the scepter. If Hydra figures out how to use the Mind Stone…” She shook her head.

 

Fenris whined again. “Yeah,” Darcy agreed. “Bad.” She smiled at him. “We shouldn’t worry too much. Between your dad, Thor, and Steve, I’m pretty sure we got this.”

 

Fenris wagged his tail excitedly. Darcy poked him in the shoulder. “Remember what I said, though. You do  _ exactly _ as I say. I don’t want you getting hurt, young man.”

 

The wolf nudged her hand with his nose and licked her fingers. “You’re a good kid,” Darcy told him. “I know you’ll do fine. Your dad’s right. It’s about time you learned how to fight in the real world. We’re not gonna stay on earth forever, and the galaxy can get pretty scary.”

 

There was a knock on the door, and Darcy jumped involuntarily. “Jarvis, who is it?”

 

“Captain Rogers and Master Thor are waiting to speak with you, Miss Lewis,” Jarvis replied smoothly.

 

Darcy got to her feet and crossed over to the door, Fenris beside her. Steve was still in uniform, and Thor in his armor, when she opened the door. “Hey, guys.”

 

“Darcy, well met,” Thor greeted, stooping to hug her. “How was your journey here?”

 

“Uneventful,” Darcy replied. When Thor stepped away from her, he turned to Fenris with a wide smile.

 

“Come, then, you mangy beast,” he teased, patting his chest. Fenris reared back on his hind legs and braced his front paws on Thor’s chest, nuzzling Thor’s face fondly. Thor laughed and rubbed Fenris’ neck.

 

“Hey, Darce,” Steve said tiredly, taking his turn to hug Darcy. “Sorry to spring this on you unexpectedly.”

 

“I get it,” Darcy assured him. “We want to help.”

 

“Speaking of which,” Steve said, looking around. “Where’s Loki?”

 

“In the closet,” Darcy replied.

 

Steve blinked and stared at her. “Excuse me?” he said slowly. “I don’t… I thought…”

 

“Dark, enclosed place,” Darcy explained. “No windows. He feels safe.”

 

Thor sighed heavily. “Yes, that was his habit as a boy.” He patted Fenris one last time and the wolf dropped down to all fours. Fenris slipped between Darcy and Steve to thoroughly investigate Steve’s uniform.

 

Steve looked down at Fenris uncertainly. “So… This is Fenris?” he asked.

 

“Yup. Fen, this is Steve Rogers, Captain America and old friend of mine,” Darcy introduced.

 

Fenris sat back on his haunches and politely offered a paw. Steve stared at Fenris for a moment, and then solemnly shook his paw. “Nice to meet you, Fenris.” Fenris nodded gravely back.

 

Darcy rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Okay. Steve, give me the skinny. What’s been going on with Hydra?”

 

Steve gestured towards the couches. “We’d better sit down. This might take a while.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

The closet of the master bedroom of the guest suite was larger than the one in their home in Pennsylvania, but not quite as large as the ones in the royal palace in Asgard. In any case, it was dark and quiet, and it served its purpose.

 

Loki sat with his back to the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, and focused on his breathing. He had known that returning to the tower, seeing Stark and the others, would illicit a reaction, but he had not anticipated how strong. Just seeing the skyline of the city was more difficult than he had expected. The memories were as vivid now as they had been three years ago. Thanos and Skuld in his head, trapped helpless in his own body, witness to the chaos and destruction.

 

And the pain… Thanos had taken pleasure in finding new ways to inflict pain that Loki could not defend against. Loki had spent most of the four days he’d been on earth severely dehydrated and hiding burn wounds under his armor. He was particularly susceptible to fire, thanks to his Frost Giant nature, and Thanos had taken full advantage of that.

 

But these were not things he could tell anyone. Darcy, at least, would not think him weak, but she carried too much of her own pain, her own guilt, that he did not wish to burden her further. Thor, of course, was incapable of understanding. Frigga, his mother, might have been able to help, but Loki would not show weakness or dependence on any other being. It was not his way. He was Loki, the Trickster, God of Mischief. He was not weak.

 

There was a faint rattle overhead, and Loki looked up. The light in the closet was not on, but Loki had always been able to see even in the darkest of places. The rattle came again, from an air vent in the ceiling. There was a scrape, and then the vent was pulled inward and out of the way.

 

Loki heard a slide of fabric, and then a familiar, male voice spoke. “I’m coming in. Don’t shoot me or anything.”

 

“I am unarmed,” Loki replied dryly.

 

“That doesn’t mean anything when it’s you,” replied the voice, and then Clint Barton emerged from the vent, dropping nimbly down onto the floor. He blinked at the total darkness, and then pulled a flashlight out of his pocket, clicking it on.

 

“What are you doing here?” Loki asked, but not harshly. Of all the Avengers, the last person he would expect to see was Clint Barton. Not after what had been done to the archer. Or rather, he would have expected a violent confrontation with weapons.

 

Instead, Barton sat down opposite Loki and stared at him for a few moments. “You know, after all the shit that happened, your mom came to SHIELD. Said she wanted to fix us. Me and Selvig.”

 

“I had heard that,” Loki said neutrally, eying Barton warily.

 

Barton nodded. “And she did. Whatever she did, stopped the flashbacks. Started thinking clearly again. Focused, you know. But…” He tilted his head. “Didn’t stop the nightmares. Every night. Kept seeing you.” He pointed at Loki.

 

Loki said nothing, staring at Barton with a closed expression. Barton shrugged.

 

“You know what they say. Confront your fears. Thought if I looked you in the face… maybe it would help.” The human tilted his head. “But you’re just as messed up as I was, aren’t you? And you didn’t have anyone to fix you.”

 

“I have Darcy,” Loki bit out hastily, and then reigned in his temper. If anyone had a cause to confront him, it was Barton. Whatever Barton wished to do or say, Loki would endure it.

 

“Yeah,” Barton said, not convinced. “She’s a gift. But I was under for four days. You… how long was it for you?”

 

Loki hesitated for a long moment. “Seven and a half centuries, by your counting,” he finally said reluctantly.

 

“Shit,” Barton said, running his hand over his short hair. “That… That’s tough.”

 

“Yes,” Loki agreed.

 

Barton nodded slowly. “Okay.” He stretched out his legs and crossed his arms. Loki raised an eyebrow questioningly at him. “It’s not good to be alone when you’re like this,” Barton told him. “Head gets too noisy. Need someone to take you out of it. You want to sit in the dark and not talk, I’m down with that. But I’m not letting you do it alone.”

 

Loki stared at Barton for several silent seconds, feeling confused and humbled. “Thank you,” he finally said softly.

  
Barton just nodded again and settled in to wait.


	3. I Bare My Skin And Count My Sins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! You will probably have noticed that my updating schedule has shrunk to once a week...ish. Or so. It looks like that's what I'm gonna be able to manage for the next three months until I get back onto night shift. It sucks, I know, but please just be patient with me.
> 
> And on that note, Bea, the inspiration for this story and my fangirl soul-sister, is visiting me over the weekend (insert excited squealing) so next week's update may or may not happen. We shall have to see.

Darcy woke up with a faceful of fur and a heavy weight at her back. Since this had occurred on more than one occasion over the past two years, she was not alarmed. She opened her eyes to see Fenris’ ears inches from her face.

“So much for the couch,” Darcy muttered.

Darcy may have only been Fenris’ step-mother, but Fenris didn’t technically have a birth mother, and it had been Darcy who’d been in charge of making sure he got his bottle every two hours when he’d been a cub. Loki had tried to claim bottle duty, but Darcy had stoutly refused, claiming she was practicing her mothering skills before Elden arrived.

Darcy poked Fenris in the back, and the wolf made a quiet inquiring sound. “I want up,” she whispered at him. “I have to pee.”

Fenris gave a deep, aggrieved sigh and climbed laboriously out of Darcy’s way. When she sat up, Loki shifted position, immediately claiming her abandoned spot. Darcy rolled her eyes and headed to the bathroom. She wasn’t sure at what point he’d left the closet, but he’d probably gotten less sleep than she had.

After taking care of the necessities, Darcy texted Brenna, received a positive reply, and went to check if there was any coffee in the kitchen. Fenris joined her as she opened cupboards and cabinets, searching in vain for anything resembling coffee beans.

“Shit,” Darcy muttered. She rubbed her forehead with a deep sigh. It was seven AM and she’d gotten three hours of sleep. Today was probably going to be long and frustrating, filled with tense interactions between Loki, Stark, and Steve, and Darcy most certainly did not want to face that uncaffeinated.

“Jarvis,” she said, dropping her hand.

“Yes, Miss Lewis?” asked Jarvis from a speaker hidden in the ceiling.

“Where is the closest and easiest place to get coffee?” Darcy asked wearily.

“There is a coffee shop situated on the ninety-third floor for members of the Research and Development Department,” Jarvis told her. “It is open twenty-four hours.”

“Awesome. Thanks, buddy,” Darcy replied, and headed for the door. Fenris followed her out into the hallway, keeping close to her left side. There was no one in the common area on the way to the elevator, which was a mercy, because Darcy really didn’t want to have a conversation pre-coffee.

The elevator opened into a private lobby on the ninety-third floor, with a palm scanner on the outside of the door. Darcy ignored that, knowing Jarvis would let her back in, and crossed the public lobby, enticed by the smell of freshly-ground beans.

She got some stares from the few other people waiting in line at the coffee shop. Or rather, Fenris got stares. One woman in particular transferred her glare to Darcy with a sniff.

“He’s a service dog,” Darcy replied to her silent accusation.

“Really?” the woman asked skeptically, eying Fenris and his lack of vest or harness. “For what?”

“Panic attacks,” Darcy said flatly, and the woman looked away, embarrassed. It wasn’t technically a lie. Darcy would probably have a panic attack if Fenris _wasn’t_ there. She’d be out of her mind looking for him.

Darcy scanned the coffee shop counter and caught sight of the bakery display. “Ooh, Fen, they have pumpkin muffins. Do you want a muffin?”

Fen wagged his tail twice and pricked his ears forward, tongue lolling from his mouth. Darcy got to the front of the line.

“Can I get a medium caramel macchiato, iced coffee with no ice, black, a cinnamon latte, and two pumpkin muffins?” Darcy asked the barista.

“Iced coffee no ice?” the barista echoed dubiously.

“Yeah, just cold coffee,” Darcy said, nodding.

“Oo-kaaaaay,” the barista said, and punched Darcy’s order in. Darcy held out a credit card and the barista stared at her. “You must be new around here,” the young woman said. “It’s free. Everything is free for employees.”

“I’m not an employee,” Darcy told her, still holding out her card.

“Then how did you get on this floor?” the barista challenged.

“I’m staying in one of the guest suites on floor 101,” Darcy replied.

“You… are?” the barista asked in disbelief.

Darcy nodded silently. The barista shook her head. “Well, it’s free for residents, too.”

“Oh. Okay,” Darcy put her credit card back in her pocket. “Thanks.”

Despite the line, Darcy’s order was ready in minutes, and she headed back to the private lobby and the elevator. She’d almost made it when she was stopped dead in her tracks.

“Darcy Anne Lewis!”

At the sound of her full name, Darcy startled so badly she almost dropped the cardboard tray carrying her drinks. Her first thought was “ _oh shit, what’d I do?_ ” and her second was “ _when did my mom get here?_ ”

She cast around wildly, trying to find the source of her name, when she saw a blonde woman in a business suit bearing down on her. “Oh,” she said. “Oh, no.”

Fenris moved to place himself squarely in front of Darcy, hackles raised and teeth bared. The woman slowed to a halt, eying Fenris nervously. “Uh, when did you get a dog?” the woman demanded.

“Fen, it’s okay, I know her. She’s a friend,” Darcy said, putting her hand on Fenris’ shoulder. Fenris’ aggressive behavior evaporated instantly, and he plopped onto his haunches, tongue hanging from his mouth.

“See, this is exactly the sort of thing that pisses me off,” Angela Finch said, shaking her finger at Fenris. “You’re a cat person. Why the hell did you get a dog?”

“He’s my husband’s,” Darcy said weakly.

“Your _husband_ ?” Angela shrieked, loud enough to attract attention from all over the lobby. “You got _married_ ? For heaven’s sake, Darcy! Four years! Four freakin’ years! I get a couple of emails and then nothing! It’s like you vanished off the face of the planet! We were friends since _fifth grade_! We were college roommates! What the serious hell?”

Darcy screwed up her face. “Ange, I’m really sorry. You’re right. I should’ve kept in touch better. But I’ve had, like, three hours of sleep and no coffee. Also, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I _work_ here,” Angela said, setting her hands on her hips. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Darcy blinked a couple of times. “You work here?” she echoed. “Doing what?”

Angela tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m the assistant PR manager for the Avengers,” she announced proudly.

Darcy blinked a few more times. “The Avengers have a PR team?” she asked blankly.

“Well, it’s just me, Roshana Hadib, and one other guy, but yeah,” Angela replied, crossing her arms. “You never told me what _you’re_ doing here.”

Darcy sighed. “I’m consulting for the Avengers,” she told Angela.

“Consulting?” Angela repeated. “Seriously?” She sounded excited. “Oh my god, Darce! That’s amazing! Is it a permanent gig? That is such a perfect application for your degree! How did you get the job? You have to tell me everything!”

Darcy squinted at Angela. “Remember what I said about three hours of sleep?” she said.

“Whatever,” Angela said dismissively, waving a hand. “You totally owe me. We were best friends for twelve years, and then you just vanished without saying anything. I absolutely _need_ to hear everything that has happened over the last four years. And I mean _now_.”

“Shouldn’t you be at work?” Darcy asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to catch up with her old friend, but she wished it would be at a time where she’d gotten a full-night’s sleep.

“I’ve got time,” Angela said. She poked Darcy in the shoulder. “Talk. Tell me about this _husband_ of yours. And why was I not invited to the wedding?”

“My parents weren’t even there, so don’t feel bad,” Darcy muttered, and then sighed. “Fine, I’ll talk, but we’re doing this upstairs. Also, I have a question for you.”

“What?” Angela demanded.

“How extensive was the NDA you had to sign before you were allowed to work for the Avengers?” Darcy asked.

Angela stared at her. “Damn, Darcy, what sort of shit did you get yourself into?”

“You’re probably not going to believe me when I tell you,” Darcy told her, reaching the door to the private lobby. “Jarvis, help a sister out,” she said.

“Your palm scan has been saved since your last visit, Miss Lewis,” Jarvis informed her. “Please place your hand on the scanner.”

Darcy handed the bag with the muffins to Angela and put her right hand on the scanner. The door opened for her with a click and she pulled it open.

“Oh, wow,” Angela said. “I’ve never been up to the residences before.”

“How long have you worked here?” Darcy asked as they stepped into the elevator.

“Eighteen months,” Angela replied.

“How much of a gag order do you have?”

“I’m not allowed to release any information regarding the Avengers without approval of the PR manager,” Angela told her. “Or I’ll get sued literally to death.”

Darcy nodded and took a long sip from her macchiato as she thought. Angela was right; they’d been friends since they were eleven. They’d been roommates for three years of college, right up until Darcy had left for her internship with Jane. Darcy’s gut instinct was to trust her, and Darcy’s gut was usually right.

“Can I do something real quick?” Darcy asked. “You won’t feel anything. I just need to check on something.”

Angela gave her a weird look. “Okay?” she said uncertainly.

Darcy reached over with her free hand and took a gentle hold of Angela’s wrist. Reading her old friend was surprisingly easy, but Darcy didn’t learn anything she didn’t already know.

“What was that about?” Angela demanded. “You psychic or something?”

“Or something,” Darcy replied mildly. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. There was still no one in the common area, much to Darcy’s relief.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Angela wondered plaintively as she followed Darcy down the hall to the guest suite.

“You know that trope about teenagers discovering they have superpowers?” Darcy asked, using the palm scanner to open the door of the guest suite.

Angela stared at her. “Oh my god, Darce, do you have superpowers?”

“Not technically,” Darcy said, and stepped through the door just as Loki emerged from the bedroom, his hair damp and tousled, and wearing only a pair of leather pants. His eyes fixed first on the cardboard cups in Darcy’s hand, and then over Darcy’s shoulder.

“Holy _shit_ ,” Angela said from behind Darcy.

Darcy stepped out of the way and gestured. “Ange, this is my husband, Loki. Loki, this is Angela. We’ve been friends for, like, ever.”

Loki walked over and picked up the cinnamon latte, correctly identifying it by smell alone. Fenris bumped his head against Loki’s hip, and Loki scratched his son behind his ears. “Angela Finch, yes?” Loki asked, eyes still fixed on Angela. “Your friend at your university?”

“Oh god, he’s British, too,” Angela said weakly.

Darcy snorted. “Babe, you’d better go put a shirt on before Ange’s brain explodes.”

Loki sniffed indignantly, but took his latte and headed back to the bedroom. Angela turned to Darcy with a wide-eyed expression. “ _Where_ did you find him and are there any more?” she demanded.

“No, there are definitely no more like him,” Darcy said with a laugh. She found a large, deep bowl and poured the ice-less iced coffee into it and found a plate for the muffin. She peeled the paper off the muffin and put plate and bowl at the table for Fenris.

“You let your dog eat at the table?” Angela asked, looking slightly grossed-out.

Fenris ignored her in favor of devouring his muffin. Darcy held up a hand. “A, he’s a wolf, not a dog, and B, he’s a hyper-intelligent magical construct from another planet, so he knows what you’re saying, and he doesn’t like being called a dog.”

“He’s a what from a what?” Angela asked blankly.

Darcy took a deep breath. “Yeah. Remember that internship I got? The one in New Mexico?”

“The one right before you dropped off the face of the earth?” Angela crossed her arms.

“It was with Jane Foster,” Darcy told her.

It took a moment for Angela to make the connection. “Jane Foster,” she echoed. “ _The_ Jane Foster. Astrophysicist. Thor’s girlfriend. _That_ Jane Foster?”

Darcy nodded and took another long drink from her coffee. A surprising number of emotions crossed Angela’s face for a few seconds while she regained the power of speech. She pointed to the bedroom door. “Is he… Is he an _alien_ ?” Angela demanded in a low voice. “Did you marry an _alien_?”

“He’s Thor’s younger brother,” Darcy replied mildly, leaning her hip against the counter.

“Oh my _god_ ,” Angela whispered. “So you really _did_ drop off the face of the planet!”

“More or less,” Darcy replied. “I’ve been back in PA the last two years, though. We bought a house.”

“You live in Pennsylvania?” Angela asked in disbelief. “You could be living in a freakin’ palace on another _planet_ , and you live in _Pennsylvania_?”

Darcy shrugged one shoulder. “We wanted to be close to my parents. And it’s quiet there.”

“What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?” Angela demanded.

“Can you watch the language in front of the kid?” Darcy asked with a wince, nodding towards Fenris, who lifted his face from his bowl of coffee long enough to snort derisively at his step mother before going back to his drink.

“You married an _alien_!” Angela exclaimed. “You have an alien dog! How is this your life?”

“Alien is a relative term,” Loki said as he came into the kitchen, wearing one of his Asgardian tunics. “From my point of view, _you_ are an alien. It is really a distasteful word.”

Angela gaped at him for a moment. “Oh. Uh, okay.”

Loki turned to Darcy. “Have you heard from Rogers? Or Stark? I imagine they would wish to speak with us soon.”

“No, I haven’t,” Darcy replied. “I’ve been up for half an hour and I haven’t heard anything.”

There was a knock on the door of the suite, and Jarvis announced, “Agent Barton is at the door.”

Darcy blinked, staring at Loki for a blank moment. Clint was the _last_ person she would have expected to show up. “What the hell is Clint doing here?” she asked out loud.

“I haven’t the faintest idea,” Loki replied mildly, and headed towards the door.

Darcy shook herself out of her reverie and went after him. “Loki, wait! That may not be the best idea!” But Loki was already at the front door and had opened it by the time she got there.

“Hey,” Clint said, looking up at Loki. “You hangin’ in there?”

“I am… better, thank you,” Loki said politely, inclining his head.

“You get any sleep?” Clint went on, hands shoved in his pockets.

“Some. You?” Loki asked.

Clint shook his head. “Nah. Something personal came up. ‘Sokay, though. I’ve had, like, six cups of coffee. I’ll last until probably 2 o’clock until I crash.”

“Let us hope nothing important occurs after 2 o’clock, then,” Loki said dryly.

Clint nodded. “Yeah. Oh, hey Darce. What’s up, kid?”

Darcy raised her eyebrows. “You boys wanna tell me what’s going on here?”

“Agent Barton sat with me for a little while, yesterday,” Loki explained.

Darcy looked between the two men. “He sat with you,” she said flatly. “When you were inside a locked closet.”

Clint nodded. “Air vents,” he said. “Very useful.”

Darcy sighed. “Okay, then.”

“Oh, Rogers wants us to meet in the common area in an hour,” Clint added. “Told him I’d pass the message along.”

“Thank you,” Loki told him sincerely.

“No prob.” Clint saluted them with two fingers and meandered off. Loki closed the door behind him and drank from his latte. He lowered the cup and stared at it thoughtfully for a moment.

“Hmm,” he said, and then leaned down to kiss Darcy. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she replied wryly. “So, you and Clint have had some bonding time, huh?”

“We understand each other,” Loki said simply. He looked her up and down. “You should probably prepare for our meeting. You do not want to arrive looking like that.”

Darcy shoved him playfully. “Ass.”

Angela peeked out from the kitchen. “Was that Hawkeye?” she asked in an excited squeak.

“Dude, you’re the assistant PR manager,” Darcy said, walking back towards her.

“That doesn’t mean I get to _meet_ them,” Angela said. “We get a monthly sit down with Maria Hill, that’s it.”

“She gives me the creeps,” Darcy said with a shudder. “Something about her is not human.”

“Which makes her an effective agent, I imagine,” Loki commented dryly.

“Maybe,” Darcy muttered. She sighed. “Loki’s right, though. I need to get ready for our meeting. Can we do lunch, later?”

“Definitely,” Angela replied. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. “There’s my cell phone number. Call me when you’re done.”

Darcy waved the card. “Cross my heart.”

Angela headed toward the door, but when she passed Loki, she turned around and flashed Darcy a double thumbs-up, outside his line of view. Darcy snorted and flipped Angela off. Angela laughed, waved, and then disappeared out the door.

Loki turned briefly but too late to see what had happened, and looked back at Darcy. “You never speak of her.”

Darcy raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Then how’d you know her name and that we went to college together?”

“I asked Jarvis where you were and he told me who you were with,” Loki replied, finding the second pumpkin muffin. He cautiously sniffed it, and then handed the bag to Darcy with a look of disgust. “Then I looked on your Facebook.”

Darcy took the bag from him. “Stalker,” she accused.

“I am your husband,” he told her pointedly. “I am entitled to know these things.”

“Do I need to remind you of the definition of ‘lagsmaðr’?” Darcy demanded.

“You have not used that term in two years,” Loki replied. “Do not pretend it has any significance now.”

“True,” Darcy said, and took a bite of the muffin.

XxxXxxX

Forty-five minutes later, Darcy and Loki arrived at the common room with Fenris. Natasha was already there, reading from a tablet. Sam arrived at the same time as Darcy and Loki, and Fenris went to greet him, tail held high and wagging.

“Hey, kiddo,” Sam said with a smile, scratching the base of Fenris’ skull. “You settling in okay?”

“I think we could all have used a couple extra hours of sleep,” Darcy said.

“No kidding,” Sam agreed. He eyed Loki for a moment, but neither man said anything.

Darcy plopped onto the couch beside Natasha. “Hey. How’ve you been?”

“Busy,” Natasha said, turning off her tablet. “Doing a lot of jet-hopping. Seeing the world. Or parts of it.”

“The tentacle-y and sea-monster-y parts?” Darcy asked.

Natasha smiled faintly. “There’s always a distinctly fishy smell when Hydra gets involved.”

Darcy nodded sagely.

Steve was the next to arrive, deep in conversation with Thor. Both of them were carrying brown paper bags. “We got bagels,” Steve explained, putting the bags on the bar.

“You had time to get bagels?” Darcy demanded.

“Not exactly,” Steve said uncomfortably.

“We had them delivered,” Thor announced, and walked over to clap Loki excitedly on the shoulder. “Loki! It has been too long, my brother.”

Loki smiled ruefully and squeezed Thor’s shoulder in return. “Too long,” he agreed. “And not entirely my fault, either. How is Jane?”

“She is well,” Thor told him. “She enjoys her work here, and keeps busy while I am away. Many universities have requested her assistance and her wisdom.”

Loki nodded. “That is good to hear. Have you heard from Asgard recently?”

Thor frowned. “I have not. Why? Is something amiss?”

Loki glanced aside at the humans. “No,” he said softly. “But I would speak to you later. In private.”

“Of course,” Thor promised, and squeezed Loki’s shoulder one more time.

Tony strutted into the room, Hill keeping pace alongside him. In heels, she was the same height as he was, which was comical to Darcy for some reason.

“I’m just saying, we should check it out,” Tony said, gesturing emphatically.

“I will, but I am not approving a mission until we have confirmation,” Hill replied.

“You know, you work for _me_ , right?” Tony demanded. “You do remember that, right?”

“I work for _Pepper_ ,” Hill corrected.

“Same difference,” Tony said impatiently.

“Actually, it’s not,” Hill said dryly.

Tony caught sight of Loki and promptly forgot about his current conversation. “Oh, Hill, draw up a liability form. I want it in writing that Magic Fingers over there has to pay for whatever he damages.”

Loki sighed and didn’t reply, instead poking through one of the bags of bagels until he found a blueberry one. Tony, however, seemed intent on getting a reaction. He strutted up to Loki, uncaring of the four inch height difference between them.

“You know, Thor seems to think you’re a pretty stand-up guy,” Tony said to Loki. “Thinks you could be a team player and all that crap. That’s not how I read you. You’re more of a doesn’t-play-well-with-others kind of guy.”

“Then we are two of a kind,” Loki said sarcastically, and tore off a piece of the bagel to eat.

Tony narrowed his eyes. “All I’m saying, buddy, don’t get comfortable. My guess, you don’t last long around here.”

“Tony,” Steve said warningly. “Isn’t it a little early for that?”

Tony somehow managed to glare down his nose at Loki and then pranced off. “Jarvis, where’s Barton? We need to get this over with. _Some_ of us have better things to do than play catch up with the newbies.”

“Agent Barton is arriving now, sir,” Jarvis announced, just as Clint slouched in, his hair disheveled and a different hoodie on than the one he’d been wearing an hour ago.

Darcy felt the whole room go still, everyone either looking at Clint or at Loki. Clint didn’t seem to notice. His attention was immediately captured by Fenris, and his face lit up. “Oh, aren’t you _beautiful_!” Clint breathed, making a bee-line for Fenris. He stopped just short of the wolf and crouched to get on eye-level.

“Hi, gorgeous,” he gushed. “I’m Clint. Look at you. Look at those _eyes_ . Can I pet you? Is that okay with you? Darce said you were a looker, but _damn_ , kid.”

Fenris seemed taken aback the the effusive greeting, but he offered his paw politely anyway. Clint sobered and shook Fenris paw solemnly, and then raised his hand inquiringly. Fenris heaved a huge canine sigh, and then leaned forward, bumping Clint’s hand with his head. Clint scratched him between his ears, cooing happily as he did.

Clint looked up at Loki, who was standing nearby. “He’s got his mother’s personality,” he joked.

“Small favors,” Loki replied.

“Ooh, are those bagels?” Clint asked, and got to his feet, heading over to the bar.

There was a moment of surprised silence, interrupted almost immediately by Tony. “That’s it?” the billionaire demanded.

Clint and Loki both looked at Tony in confusion. Tony gestured at the two of them. “He mind-whammies you with his destructo-stick, and that’s _it_? No punching? No arrows in his eye socket?”

Clint swallowed his mouthful of bagel. “Pretty sure I’d break my hand trying to punch him,” he said dryly. “And I left my bow in my room.”

“Which is a mercy, because I think an arrow to the eye socket _could_ actually hurt me,” Loki added in an aside to Clint, who eyed him consideringly.

“Yeah, maybe one of the incendiary ones. Or one of the explosive ones. Ooh, I’ve got this new one that shoots acid.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “Truly? Sounds remarkably brutal.”

“You’re telling me you don’t want _any_ kind of payback?” Tony interrupted. “Not even a little?”

Clint fixed Tony with a baleful glare. “Loki was under mind-control when he used the scepter on me,” he said sharply. “I was only under for four days. Loki was under for seven hundred and fifty _years_. I really don’t think I have room to complain.”

Tony blinked, his mouth opening and then closing again. His gaze flicked to Loki. “Seven hundred and fifty years?” he echoed a bit weakly.

Loki nodded mutely.

“ _Damn_ ,” Tony muttered to himself.

Hill cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Now that we’re all here,” she said firmly. “We can get started.”

“Wait,” Darcy said, raising her hand that didn’t have a bagel in it. “Where’s Dr B? Shouldn’t he be here?”

“Dr Banner is recovering from a code green,” Hill said delicately.

“Code green? Oh, got it,” Darcy nodded and lowered her hand. She gestured toward Hill. “Continue.”

Hill gave her an exasperated look. “As I was saying…”

Darcy only paid attention with half an ear. Thor and Steve had already caught her up on most of what Hill was saying. She was more concerned with Loki’s reaction. He seemed completely engrossed in tearing off small bites of his bagel, but when Hill mentioned the scepter for the first time, Darcy detected a small flinch.

“...from sources that Hydra has been experimenting by using the Stone on human subjects,” Hill finished, tucking her tablet under her arm. “Loki? Do you have anything to add?”

Loki was silent for a long moment, staring down at Fenris, who was staring fixedly back, aware of his father’s discomfort. “Entrapping minds is but one facet of the Stone’s power,” he said at length. “It is a force of destruction, like all the Stones. But if Hydra has learned how to harness it, to pass its power on to humans…” he trailed off. “I would be very surprised if Hydra has had any success. The process would be incredibly difficult and humans are notoriously fragile.” He blinked and tilted his head. “That being said, Jane Foster was able to contain the Aether, the Reality Stone, for almost two days. I doubt she would have survived much longer.”

“What kind of powers are we looking at, here?” Steve asked, crossing his arms and peering at Loki with a thoughtful frown.

Loki took a deep breath and looked up at Steve. “That would depend on the person, I would think. Each person reacts to the Stones differently.”

“So you’re saying that people may or may not have powers, and we have no idea what kind,” Tony said bluntly, giving Loki a belligerent look. He gestured toward Loki and addressed the room at large. “Why did we bring him in again? _I_ could have told you that.”

“Can you find a way to track the Stone?” Hill asked, pointedly ignoring Tony.

“Yes,” Loki said softly. He glanced around the room. “I will need assistance. From Jane Foster, and Agent Barton.”

Clint blinked blearily and looked up from where he was staring blankly at Fenris. “Me?” he asked. “Why?”

Loki took another deep breath. “You and I are the only ones touched by the Mind Stone, that we have access to. The Stones… when they touch someone, they change them, even in a way that is otherwise undetectable. If you want me to find a way to track the Stone, track whomever it might have been changed, I will first need to discover how _we_ have changed.”

Clint nodded slowly. “That makes sense,” he said slowly.

Hill looked primly at Tony. “I’m sorry, was _that_ something you could have told us, too?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I can still fire you,” he muttered.

“Take it up with Pepper,” Hill replied. “Loki, I’ll take you to Dr Foster’s lab. We’d appreciate it if you could get started right away.”

“Yes,” Loki said in the same soft voice. “Of course.”

Darcy got up from the couch and crossed over to Loki before he could leave and touched his arm. “Are you well?” she asked him in the First Tongue. That earned them some strange looks around the room, and Thor gave Loki a sharp, inquisitive look.

But Loki merely tilted his head and met Darcy’s gaze. “Why would I not be?” he asked, and turned to follow Hill out of the room.


	4. I Shot A Hole Through Every Single Thing That I Loved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. Sorry about the long delay in posting. I had a really good time with Bea, and then I got distracted by Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow. Damn these DC shows, they really suck you in. I used to think I was a straight Marvel fan, but I don't know anymore... Anyway, have fun with the boatload of angst I'm throwing at you. *pained laughter*

Jane was, of course, already in the lab, despite it barely being nine o’clock, and judging by the level of chaos, had probably been in the lab for several hours. She didn’t even notice their arrival.

 

“Jane!” Darcy yelled, crossing the lab towards her old friend.

 

Jane shrieked and whirled around, eyes wide. “ _ Darcy _ ? What the hell? When did you get here?”

 

“A few hours ago,” Darcy replied in a normal voice. “Hey. How’s it going?”

 

“It’s going,” Jane said, hugging Darcy tightly. “How are you? How’re the kids?  _ Where _ are the kids?”

 

“Home, with mom and Brenna,” Darcy told her.

 

“Except for you,” Jane said, leaning down to scrub Fenris behind the ears with both hands. “Hey, pretty boy. Look at you! You’ve gotten so big!”

 

Fenris’ tail whipped back and forth and he barked happily, bouncing on his front paws in excitement. Jane stooped to place a kiss on the top of his head before breaking away to greet Loki. Darcy watched as Loki acquiesced to a hug from Jane. Neither of them were huggy sort of people. In fact, Loki didn’t much like hugging _ Thor _ , but they both made an exception for each other. It was one of Darcy’s greatest reliefs that Loki and Jane actually liked each other.

 

“Clint, hey,” Jane said, stepping away from Loki. “You look like crap. You okay?”

 

Clint shrugged. “Bad night,” he said simply. He shrugged a shoulder. “Bad memories.”

 

Jane nodded slowly. “Yeah. You guys talked about the scepter, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here?”

 

“We require your assistance,” Loki told her.

 

Jane spread her hands. “Yeah, sure. Anything I can do.”

 

“I believe we may be able to isolate the scepter’s unique radioactive signature in order to track it,” Loki explained. “But there is something else, as well.”

 

Jane frowned. “What is it?”

 

Loki reached out and touched Jane’s arm, then her shoulder, then the side of her neck. Jane blinked, surprised that he would initiate that amount of contact with someone other than Darcy. Loki nodded to himself, as if he’d confirmed something.

 

“You contained the Aether for two days,” he told Jane.

 

“Yeah,” Jane said slowly. “And?”

 

“Quite remarkable, really,” Loki continued. “I am quite confident it would have killed anyone else far sooner.”

 

“What are you saying?” Jane demanded.

 

“What he’s saying is that the Aether might have changed you, on a cellular level,” Darcy cut in, wringing her hands together. “Loki thinks it has, and that the scepter changed him and Clint when it was used on them. We need to find out how it’s changed you so we can find the people that Hydra is using the scepter to experiment on.”

 

Jane looked between the three of them for a couple of seconds. “Changed how?” she demanded. “I don’t feel any different.”

 

“You may not,” Loki said. “But being touched by an Infinity Stone… well, change is inevitable.”

 

“Oh,” Jane said, and looked down at her hands. She looked back up. “Okay. So. What do we need to do?”

 

“Your equipment here is rudimentary,” Loki said with a sigh, “But with some modifications, we should be able to identify  _ how _ we have been changed. We will have to run some tests.”

 

“What kind of tests?” Jane asked nervously.

 

Loki grimaced. “Many.”

 

Four hours later, Darcy was ready for the tests to be over, and she wasn’t even one of the subjects. Under Loki’s instructions, a biochemist named Dr Steinz had taken blood samples, MRIs, full-body deep tissue scans, X-rays, and was about to start on EEGs. Clint had managed to fall asleep in one corner, so they were focusing on Jane and Loki at the moment.

 

“How much more of this are you going to want to do?” Darcy asked as a lab assistant affixed tiny wireless sensors to Loki’s forehead.

 

“As many tests as the humans have,” Loki told her, remaining still. “The more facets we have to study, the more likely we will have positive results.” He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. “You do not have to be here for this,  _ elskede _ .”

 

“I’m not leaving you,” Darcy insisted.

 

Loki’s mouth curled downward at one corner. “Did you not promise your friend you would meet her?”

 

“Oh,  _ shit _ ,” Darcy yelped, and snatched her phone. “She’s gonna be pissed.”

 

“Go,” Loki told her. “I will call you when we are finished.”

 

“Are you sure?” Darcy asked, already texting Angela’s number.

 

Loki reached out and took Darcy’s hand, drawing her closer so he could kiss her softly. “Go,” he told her again.

 

“Okay,” Darcy said reluctantly, and kissed him again. “Don’t forget to call me.”

 

Angela texted her back almost immediately with a floor number, and Darcy left the lab and headed towards the elevators. When she arrived at the cafeteria on floor 89, it looked more like a four-star restaurant than a cafeteria.

 

“Darcy!” Angela said, waving Darcy down from a table.

 

“Hey, sorry. I got caught up and I totally forgot to call you,” Darcy said, sitting down opposite Angela.

 

“It’s okay,” Angela assured her. “Not that I’ve been anxiously awaiting hearing the whole story on how you ended up married to Thor’s hot, snarkier brother.”

 

“It is a really long and complicated story,” Darcy said with a dry laugh.

 

Angela held up a finger. “First, you are going to explain how you have ‘not technically’ superpowers, girlfriend.”

 

Darcy looked around for a menu. “Can I decide what I want to eat first? I haven’t had anything since breakfast, which was a muffin and a bagel.”

 

“Sure, just tap the table twice for a menu, then select the item you want,” Angela told her, tapping the glass surface of the table in front of her. It lit up with blue letters and several pictures.

 

“That’s cool,” Darcy admitted. It took a couple of minutes to decide what she wanted, but once that was out of the way, they dismissed the menus.

 

“So, superpowers,” Angela demanded.

 

Darcy hesitated. What she was about to reveal to Angela was difficult to accept, and she wasn’t certain how her old friend would react. Things could go badly. “Okay,” she said with a deep sigh. “Don’t freak out, okay?”

 

“I work for the Avengers,” Angela said confidently. “I’m not going to freak out.”

 

Darcy eyed her friend. “You still might. The easiest way to explain this is that… Darcy Lewis, the Darcy Lewis you knew… is a vessel.”

 

Angela stared at her. “A vessel,” she said slowly. “For what?”

 

“A very old and powerful being called a norn,” Darcy explained. “Her-- _ my _ \--name is Sigyn, and the reason no one knew about her earlier is because she doesn’t reveal herself until adulthood.”

 

Angela leaned back in her chair. “Whoa, wait,” she said, putting her hands up. “Are you saying that there’s a whole other  _ person _ inside you?”

 

“No,” Darcy said, tilting her head. “Sigyn is me, just like Darcy Lewis is me. I’m both people. Look, Sigyn, and the other norns, they survive by reincarnating into new vessels when their old one dies. I was born Sigyn in the same way I was born Darcy Lewis. But I have Sigyn’s memories and her powers, too.”

 

Angela stared silently at Darcy for several seconds, her eyes wide. “Where--where did this Sigyn person come from?” she asked shakily.

 

“Nornheim,” Darcy replied simply.

 

“So she’s an  _ alien _ ?” Angela demanded.

 

Darcy waggled her head back and forth. “Eh… not exactly. Sigyn--I-- was originally born on Nornheim, but I’ve been reincarnated on earth about a dozen times. I’m about as human as anybody else, I guess.”

Angela pressed her fingertips to the side of her head. “That is so trippy,” she said weakly. “So this whole time, you’ve had this… norn thing… inside you, waiting to come out?”

 

Darcy nodded. “Yeah. I had no idea what, or who, I was. Not until after I started working for Jane and we met Thor. Then everything just kinda clicked.”

 

“I can’t even handle this right now,” Angela said, massaging her temples. “You’re a reincarnated immortal alien from another planet. How is that even possible?”

 

“And that’s just the beginning of the story,” Darcy said dryly. Their food arrived and Darcy realized that she was actually starving, and was distracted by her pasta for several minutes while Angela absorbed Darcy’s alien-ness.

 

“Okay, so how did you and Loki meet?” Angela demanded at length.

 

Darcy definitely knew she did not want to out Loki as being the one to lead the Chitauri attack, so she knew she was going to have to fudge the details a bit. “Well, one of my powers is like, this sort of astral-projection thing called dreamwalking, and I used to go to Asgard a lot. We ran into each other there, Loki offered to teach me how to use my powers, and things kind of, you know, happened.”

 

“Wait, hold on,” Angela said, scrunching her face up. “Astral projection? Are you serious?”

 

“Yes,” Darcy said with a nod, using her garlic bread to sop up some marinara sauce.

 

Angela blinked a couple times. “What else can you do?”

 

“Um…” Darcy chewed while she thought. “That’s a complicated question. I can read things about people. See their past and future, pick up on their emotions, motivations, that sort of thing. There’s dreamwalking, of course, and we can kinda sorta see the future. Sometimes. If the situation is right. But most of our power comes from the fact we’ve been around for so long. We’ve seen so much, we  _ know _ so much, that people come to us for advice. Like, kings and rulers and those kind of people. We’ve basically shaped the development of the Nine Realms since they evolved higher life forms.”

 

“You keep saying ‘we’,” Angela said. “There are more of you?”

 

Darcy sighed. “Yeah. There are eight of us now. There used to be nine, but the Eldest… she died.”

 

Angela frowned. “Died… and didn’t reincarnate?”

 

“Yeah,” Darcy said again. “She just died.”

 

“Oh.” Angela stared down at her plate for a moment. “So… how old is Sigyn? I mean you. How old are you?”

 

“I don’t know,” Darcy replied. “I was born before the inhabitants of the universe were evolved enough to count time.”

 

“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Angela said, staring at Darcy again.

 

Darcy shrugged uncomfortably. Before she could say anything else, her phone vibrated on the table beside her plate. Darcy frowned and picked it up. It was Jane.

 

“Hey, is everything alright?” Darcy asked.

 

_ “Loki locked himself in a supply closet and he won’t come out,”  _ Jane said.

 

“Dammit,” Darcy muttered, shoving to her feet. “I’m on my way. Don’t try to force your way in there. He’ll defend himself and someone might get hurt.”

 

_ “Trust me, no one’s willing to try. Just hurry.” _

 

Darcy shoved her phone in her pocket. “I’m sorry, Ange, something just came up. I gotta go.”

 

“What’s wrong?” Angela demanded, getting to her feet as well.

 

“It’s family stuff, I can’t really talk about it,” Darcy said quickly. “I’m really sorry. It was great seeing you again.”

 

“Yeah, okay, some other time then,” Angela said, and hugged Darcy. “Good luck with the thing.”

 

“Thanks,” Darcy said hurriedly, and started toward the elevator. Once inside, she looked up at the ceiling. “Jarvis, are they still in the bio lab?”

 

“Yes, Miss Lewis, I am taking you to that level now,” Jarvis replied in his every-calm voice.

 

“Thanks, buddy,” Darcy said softly.

 

When she got to the lab, there were two assistants cleaning up broken glass, an overturned table, and two scientists with grim expressions.

 

Darcy went to Jane first. “What happened?”

 

Jane rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I wasn’t paying attention to him. One moment he was fine, and the next he just bolted.”

 

Darcy turned to Dr Steinz. “What was he doing?” she demanded.

 

“We were going over the results of his brain scan,” she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. She was a petite, mousy-looking woman with dark hair and eyes and brown skin with freckles across her face. “He got very quiet, and then he just…” she trailed off and waved toward the supply closet.

 

Darcy sighed and looked around. “Where’s Fenris?” she asked abruptly, worry blooming in her chest.

 

“Thor came by and got him,” Jane assured her. “He said Fenris was probably bored to death in the lab, so he took him on a tour of the tower.”

 

Darcy nodded, mollified, and then started toward the closet. She hesitated, and then knocked lightly on the door. “Loki?” she called softly. “Hey. You in there?”

 

She didn’t get a reply, but the silver thread that bound their minds and souls together hummed and vibrated with proximity, telling her that Loki was, indeed, in the closet. “Babe, you need to talk to me,” Darcy called out, pressing her hands against the door. “If something’s wrong, I need to know.”

 

There was a click, and then the door was pushed open outwards, revealing Loki standing in the doorway, looking slightly rumpled but otherwise perfectly normal. Darcy blinked up at him in surprise. “Hey,” she said again. “You okay?”

 

“I am perfectly fine,” he said in a calm voice. “I apologize for worrying you.” He stepped past her into the lab. “Jane, I believe we have work to do.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Loki was most definitely  _ not _ fine, Darcy was sure of it. She hated how he refused to talk about it, refused to even acknowledge it. She’d let it slide because he’d been doing so well. The kids had been so damn  _ good _ for him, but now she was afraid this was just going to bring all of that darkness right to the surface again.

 

It was just he was so damn  _ stubborn _ about not needing other people, about not looking weak in front of others. It was beyond frustrating. She had married the most emotionally constipated being in the entire universe, she was sure of it.

 

“You are glaring,” Loki said, not looking up from Jane’s laptop, where he was tapping out another equation. Jane stopped writing on the whiteboard and turned around, frowning at Darcy.

 

“You’re right, she  _ is _ glaring,” Jane added, capping her marker. “What’s wrong, Darce?”

 

“Nothing, apparently,” Darcy said acidly, still glaring at the side of Loki’s head. He ignored her and kept typing. 

 

“Then if you would be so kind as to stop glaring, it is distracting,” Loki muttered, and reached for a notebook he had earlier filled with lines of runes. “Or better yet, see if Dr Steinz is finished analyzing Barton and Jane’s blood samples to my specifications.”

 

“You can ask Jarvis to do that,” Darcy bit out.

 

Loki put the notebook down and finally turned to face Darcy. “If you do not wish to express  _ why _ you are upset, my love, then please do not use passive aggressive means to tempt me to demand an explanation.”

 

“I’m not the one that needs to explain,” Darcy said, and pushed away from the wall she’d been leaning against. She jabbed her finger at Loki. “You need to talk to me.”

 

“About what, precisely?” Loki demanded, pressing his lips together in annoyance.

 

“Gee, I don’t know, maybe about how Thanos  _ tortured _ you with the scepter you’re trying to find?” Darcy snapped impatiently, waving a hand. “Or about why you had a panic attack when I said Hydra had it. Or about  _ anything _ to do with the fact that you’re not as okay as you are pretending to be. I can’t help you if you don’t  _ talk _ to me, dammit! Why do you never talk to me?”

 

Loki blinked, once, very deliberately. “This is why you are upset?” he asked in a carefully neutral voice. “Darcy, there is nothing to talk about.”

 

“No, you can’t give me that bullshit anymore, Loki,” Darcy retorted, stalking towards him. “I saw you at the Well, remember? Right after you’d been freed from Skuld. I saw how you were. And I didn’t push, because I just thought you needed time. But you just bottle everything up and you keep it in and sometimes I don’t even know what’s going on in your head and I’m sick of it!”

 

Jane put her marker on the table. “You know what, I’m just gonna go…” she said awkwardly, edging toward the door.

 

Darcy kept glaring at Loki. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” she said tightly.

 

“Just… you know… call me when you guys are done,” Jane said, grabbing her Stark pad on her way out of the lab.

 

Darcy heard the door click shut behind her. Loki took a deep, slow breath. “Darcy,” he began.

 

“You spent most of last night in a closet,” Darcy said, cutting him off. “You haven’t needed to do that in two years. Something is going on with you and I _need_ to know, Loki.”

 

“Need to know  _ what _ , precisely?” Loki abruptly snarled, and the switch in his mood was so sudden that Darcy took a startled step backwards. He rose to his feet, towering nearly a foot over her. “That I was tortured? That I was held against my will? Forced to perform reprehensible actions? You already know all of that,  _ wife _ . What more do you want from me?”

 

Darcy stepped forward again. No matter how angry Loki became, no matter how much he postured, he was physically and mentally incapable of harming her in any significant manner. Loki might burn the world down around her, but he would never, ever hurt her. She had nothing to fear from him. She poked him in the chest.

 

“I want to know how you  _ feel _ ,” she told him. “I want to know about the nightmares. I know you still have them. You don’t sleep well, Loki. You never have, the whole time I’ve known you. I want to know what you’re thinking. I want to know what scares you.”

 

He tilted his head, brows knitting together. “What frightens me?” he said in a low, dangerous voice. He stepped forward, grabbing Darcy’s wrist in a tight grip, forcing her backwards until the wall stopped her from going any further. “You want to know my nightmares?”

 

Loki leaned down until their faces were centimeters apart and Darcy’s breath came in rapid pants. She wasn’t scared  _ of _ him, but she was scared  _ for _ him.

 

“I see you in my dreams,” he told her in that low, deadly voice. “Every night. And you die. Over and over. Each time more horrific than the last. And it is  _ always _ my fault. And there is no Skuld, no Thanos to force my hand. Only my own darkness. And every time I wake tasting your blood on my lips.”

 

For a moment they stared at each other in silence, Darcy’s eyes wide. “Loki,” she whispered, but he laid his finger over her lips.

 

“No,” he said softly. “You wanted this. You wanted to know.  _ Yes _ , Thanos tortured me. Do you know how? With  _ fire _ . My greatest weakness. He forced me to reveal my true face, my true form, and he set me aflame. And I could do nothing. I had no defense. And when he used the Stone to enter my mind, he gave me visions of my family. Of my mother, of Thor. Of my hands killing them, again and again, until I could no longer tell false from real. Until I was nothing but a shell of a man, powered by his rage. Is this what you wanted to hear?”

 

He lowered his finger from her mouth and curled his hand around her throat, pinning her wrist above her head. “Is this your desire?” he demanded. “To know that I was weak? That I was  _ helpless _ ? That I could not save myself, or the hundreds that died at my hands? What more do you want from me,  _ norn _ ? Proof that I am incapable of protecting you? Because you have it. I am not the man you desire me to be. I never have been. You have been deceived.”

 

“No, I haven’t,” Darcy said softly, her voice catching. “I know exactly the kind of person you are, and I still love you. That’s why I need to know, Loki. I am trying to  _ help _ you and you are so damn stubborn you won’t  _ let _ me.”

 

“I do not need anyone’s help,” Loki hissed at her. “If I cannot bear my own burdens, then what use am I to anyone? To you?”

 

“You don’t have to do this alone,” Darcy told him. “That’s the whole point of  _ us _ . We’re  _ together _ . We solve our problems  _ together _ . Letting me help you does not mean you’re weak.” She swallowed against the tightness in her throat, which had nothing to do with Loki’s hand. “I just want to help you.”

 

“I do not want your help,” Loki told her flatly. “I have enough voices in my head, I do not need you prying into my dark places. That is a side of me you do not wish to see.”

 

Darcy frowned. “Are you… Do you think I’m going to leave you? Because you’re broken? Loki, I made you a promise. I am  _ never _ going to leave you. Remember? You made a promise, too. You said you were going to be better.”

 

“And have I not been?” Loki challenged. “Have I not provided for you? For our children? Is that not enough? Why will you not leave this be?”

 

Darcy yanked her hand out of his grasp easily enough that she knew he let her go, and planted both hands against his chest, pushing him away from her. He stepped back, dropping his hand from her throat. “Did you not hear  _ anything _ I just said?” she demanded irately. “I  _ love _ you.  _ You _ . Broken, dark, exactly the way you are. But you are  _ not _ okay, Loki. And I am not going to let you march into battle against something that makes you not okay. You can’t stand there and tell me that you are not going to freak out on the battlefield when Hydra pulls out the scepter against you because you  _ know _ they will. I am not going to let you get hurt.”

 

She knotted her fist in the front of his tunic and glared up at him. “I have let you bottle this up for too long, and I’m  _ tired _ of it. You are going to talk to me or so help me I will chain you to a chair and sic a psychiatrist on you.”

 

Loki blinked at her. “Do you really think you are capable of forcing me to do anything against my will?” he challenged.

 

Darcy glared harder at him. “I am your  _ wife, _ buster, so you better believe I can make you do anything I damn well please.”

 

Loki quirked an eyebrow challengingly, but at that moment the door to the lab burst in and Tony Stark stumbled through, wearing half a suit of Iron Man armor, with Natasha hanging onto one of his arms. Stark extended his other hand towards Loki, the repulsor lighting up with a whine.

 

Loki reacted before Darcy had a chance to evaluate the situation, grabbing Darcy and shoving her behind him. He flung out his own hand, three energy darts lancing through the air towards Stark. One struck his hand, knocking it away just as the pulse of energy was released so it struck a table instead of Loki. The other two darts impacted harmlessly against Stark’s armor, forcing him backwards a step.

 

“Oh, you asked for it now, buddy,” Stark snarled, leveling his palm at Loki again.

 

“Stop!” Natasha yelled, stepping in front of Loki and holding up both her hands. “Tony, just stop for a moment!”

 

“You saw the video the same as I did,” Stark snapped at her, trying to shove her out of the way. Natasha ducked under his arm and stepped in between the two men again.

 

“Tony, we obviously don’t have the whole story,” Natasha said in a reasonable tone. “Look, Darcy’s fine, isn’t she? Darcy? How you doing?”

 

“Are you fucking  _ kidding _ me?” Darcy snarled, stepping out from behind Loki. “You think Loki would actually hurt me?”

 

“He had you against the wall with his hand around your neck,” Stark replied, his hand still extended toward Loki.

 

“Admittedly, not the wisest thing I have ever done,” Loki said dryly.

 

“That was a  _ private _ conversation,” Darcy said furiously, glaring at Stark. “And for your information, I was  _ never _ in any danger. Not that it was  _ any _ of your business!”

 

“What did you expect me to do?” Stark demanded. “I mean, it’s  _ him _ !”

 

“You mean my  _ husband _ ?” Darcy spat back. “The father of my children? The person I trust more than anyone else in the universe? The one person who is not even physically capable of hurting me?  _ That _ person?” She stepped forward until she stood next to Natasha, shielding Loki from Stark. “How we act with each other in private is  _ not _ your concern, so back the fuck off!”

 

Thor stepped through the door to the lab, Fenris at his side, and looked around the room. “What… is going on?” he asked, sounding uncertain.

 

“Nothing apparently,” Stark snapped. “Except your brother is kinkier than I gave him credit for.” With that, he stomped past Thor out of the lab. Thor turned to watch him go.

 

“That does not bode well,” he commented.

 

Darcy dragged her hand down her face with a drawn-out groan. She turned to Natasha. “Thanks for your help,” she said sincerely.

 

Natasha held up her hands. “Hey, I just wanted to make sure both of them didn’t do anything they’d regret. And you’re right. Whatever you guys do is none of our business. No one’s hurt, it’s all good. I’m gonna go check on Clint.” With that, she walked out, patting Thor on the arm as she passed him.

 

Thor frowned and turned to Darcy and Loki. “Care to explain what that was about?” he asked curiously.

 

Loki immediately turned away and went to got fix the knocked-over table. “Stark must have been watching the video feed for this lab,” Darcy explained. “Loki and I were having an… intense… conversation, and Stark got the wrong impression.”

 

Thor nodded slowly. “Everything is alright, though?” he asked. “Nothing is amiss?”

 

“Everything’s fine,” Darcy said hurriedly. “It’s fine. We were just…  _ talking _ .”

 

Thor nodded again. “Very well. I wished to return Fenris to you and see if Loki wished to speak now.”

 

“Yes,” Loki said quickly, coming back over to them. “I did. Thank you. Darcy, you can tell Jane it is safe to return. I will rejoin you shortly.” He stooped to kiss Darcy’s cheek. She grabbed his collar, keeping his face close to hers.

 

“We’re not done talking,” she whispered.

 

He gazed at her for a moment. “No,” he agreed. “Of course not. Later,  _ elskede _ .”

  
Darcy let him go and watched the brothers leave the lab. Fenris pawed at her leg and she looked down at him. “Hey, Fen,” she said with a sigh. “Sorry about that. You wanna get lunch?”


	5. You'll Never Be Loved Til You've Made Your Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late. I've been aiming for Sunday as my new update day, but my weekend kinda got away from me and I was suffering from a mild case of writer's block. So I've managed to squeeze in some writing at work. We're finally getting closer to fully staffed which means less workload and less stress and even less overtime. Yay! I mean yay to less workload and stress. I still have three overtime shifts this paycheck :-)

Thor led Loki out onto a terrace on the north side of the building. There was a brisk breeze this far above the city, but not anything the two Asgardians weren’t accustomed to. Thor turned to Loki and crossed his arms. “What is it you wished to speak of, brother?” he asked, a frown creasing his brow.

“The spies Father sent out to the other Realms looking for Hela,” Loki said, gripping the railing with both hands. “Have they heard anything?”

“Not as of late,” Thor replied. “Why?”

“Because the last news I heard of her was that she has gone to Jotunheim,” Loki said grimly.

“Jotunheim?” Thor echoed, stepping forward and lowering his arms. “Why would she go there? They are not friendly to outsiders.”

“I am aware,” Loki said dryly. “I spent three days in that Realm trying to find her, but her presence there is hidden, as it is with all those of Jotun blood.”

“Do you think she is aware of her heritage?” Thor asked, his frown deepening. “That she is half Jotun?”

“I dare not presume to guess what she does and does not know,” Loki said with a tired sigh. His three days on Jotunheim had been long and without sleep, and the few hours he had gotten early this morning had done little to help. His very bones ached with weariness. “But I fear what she may discover on Jotunheim.”

“Father has been able to broker some small amount of peace with Býleister, their new king,” Thor said cautiously. “Perhaps he might be convinced to assist us in finding her.”

“For what in return?” Loki snapped irately. “The Jotnar hold no great love for me, even after the truth about Skuld was revealed. They would not help us find Hela. Indeed, they may assist her if they knew of her presence.”

“I highly doubt that,” Thor retorted, leaning his hip against the railing. “I am sorry, Loki. Had I known what you were dealing with, I would not have suggested Rogers ask you for help.”

Loki shook his head. “No, you did right. Hydra using the scepter is a far more pertinent danger than Hela at the moment.” He straightened, staring out across the city with a pensive expression. He had not returned to New York City since the Chitauri attack. He could see the new buildings and even in places scaffolding where repairs were still being made. There was a sick feeling pooled at the bottom of his stomach and a darkness clawing at the back of skull. He had not been as proficient at holding them back as he had hoped, and now Darcy was intent on prying all his secrets free.

“Loki,” Thor said, and Loki startled, not realizing that his brother had stepped closer. Loki turned to Thor and rocked back on his heels so he could look up the inch and a half that separated their heights.

“I am well,” Loki said, a bit too quickly, before Thor could ask the question he so clearly wished to.

Thor sighed and stepped away again, once more crossing his arms. “Stark is a good man,” he said, not looking at Loki. “He simply has a difficult time letting go of the past.”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “He is not the only one.”

Thor shrugged one shoulder. “Barton seems not to hold onto the past unduly.”

The corner of Loki’s mouth turned up. “No. He does not.”

“That is… pleasing to hear,” Thor said slowly. He gave Loki a uncomfortably discerning look. “Are you well, brother?” he asked gravely.

“Did I not just say that I was?” Loki retorted sharply.

Thor raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. “Darcy said last night that you were not.”

Loki took a deep breath. He did not wish to argue with his brother. The last two years had been the best between them that they had had since childhood, and he had no desire to lose that hard-earned camaraderie.

“I have already had this conversation with Darcy,” Loki said wearily. “And to be perfectly honest, I do not desire to have it again.”

Thor nodded and held up a hand. “Very well. As long as you are speaking to _someone_. You know you have nothing to prove, yes? To her or to me.”

Loki nodded tightly. “Yes,” he said shortly.

Thor hesitated, and then put his hand on Loki’s shoulder. Loki did not flinch away from the contact, like he had in the early days after his release from Skuld. Physical contact, from a select few, was no longer the burden it once was. Thor squeezed his shoulder.

“If you need anything, please do not hesitate, brother,” Thor said softly, and then turned to go back inside, leaving Loki alone on the terrace.

Loki turned back to the railing, bracing his hands against the top edge, and stared over the city without really seeing it. He had spent the last two years trying to find his eldest child, two years of fruitless searching across the Nine Realms, only to have his path lead him to Jotunheim, of all places. To his knowledge, Hela did not know that Loki was her father, only that he had a hand in the death of Skuld, her foster mother, the woman who had taken her from her birth mother.

But if she were to discover the truth, how would she react? Would the discovery of her Jotun nature be as devastating to her as it had been to him? To realize that her bloodline was that of monsters? Perhaps not, as Hela had been raised by a norn, who did not find one race any more monstrous than another. But still… It had always been Loki’s intent to tell Hela the truth himself. He did not wish her to find out in this manner.

There was nothing he could do at the moment, however. He had spoken the truth to Thor. The scepter took precedence over his search for Hela. Hela had not presented a threat in almost two years, while the scepter was a much clearer danger. And, as he had told Darcy, he most certainly did not want to live in a world where Hydra had an Infinity Stone.

He felt Darcy approach long before the door to the terrace opened again, thanks to the silver thread that bound them together. He did not turn around when she stepped onto the terrace, only looking down when she was beside him.

“Hey,” she said softly.

Loki glanced behind her briefly. “Where is Fenris?” he asked.

“With Sam and Steve,” Darcy told him. “They’re running obstacle courses in the training gym.”

Loki nodded slowly and turned back to the city spread out beneath them. “I suppose you wish to finish our conversation now.”

She rubbed his arm briefly and left her hand there. “Hey, it was a start. I just… I just need you to open up to me, babe. Let me know when you’re hurting.”

Loki inhaled slowly. The city smelt like warm asphalt, car exhaust, and salt water. “On Asgard, it is not considered seemly to admit that one is… weak, mentally. That one’s mind has betrayed you.”

“A lot of people don’t like to talk about it here, either,” Darcy admitted. He could feel the warmth of her hand through his sleeve, a point to anchor himself against the chaotic undertones of his thoughts. “After everything you’ve been through, _trust_ me, it’s not anything to be ashamed of.”

“And you think that speaking of it will bring me healing?” Loki asked sardonically, not taking his eyes off the cityscape.

“I think it will help,” she told him, squeezing his arm lightly. “If you’re able to vocalize what’s wrong, maybe it’ll help you process it better. Maybe you can move on.” She slid her hand down to cover one of his, and he turned it over so their fingers could lace together. He stared down at their joined hands for a long moment.

Perhaps Darcy was right. Perhaps he _did_ need to speak of it. She of all people, he knew, would not look on him with disgust, at least. He did not need to fear derision at her hands.

“You asked me, earlier, what it was that I feared,” Loki said softly. He still could not bring himself to look at her face as he spoke. “Why even the mention of the scepter affected me so. It is because I cannot bear even the thought that you might fall prey to the Mind Stone, as I did.”

He heard Darcy sigh deeply and then she rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Do you remember when we first met? The very first thing I ever did to you?”

Loki nodded reluctantly. “You severed Thanos’ connection to my mind.”

“Mm-hmm,” Darcy said. “Pretty sure I can handle whatever the Mind Stone throws at me.”

Loki straightened and turned towards her, looking down at her as she turned to face him. “Perhaps, but you are still human, and fragile. All it would take is the right amount of pressure here,” he touched her throat. “A bullet here,” he touched the left side of her chest. “Or a knife thrust here,” he touched her rib cage near her kidneys. “And you would be lost to me forever. And I _cannot_ lose you, Darcy.”

She smiled sadly up at him. “I’ve been taking care of myself a long time before you came along, Loki. You can’t live your life in fear of losing me. If something _were_ to happen to me, you’d have to be there for the kids. You couldn’t just give up.”

Loki looked down again at their entwined hands. “You asked me what I feared,” he said again. “That is it.”

“Loki, you _are_ strong enough to protect me,” Darcy insisted. “You always have been. You have _always_ been there when I needed you.”

“Have I?” Loki asked darkly, his brows knitting together. He could think of a few instances that he had not been.

“Yes,” Darcy said firmly. “Hey. Look at me.” He reluctantly lifted his gaze to meet hers. She waved a finger between them. “This here? It’s called communication. It’s vital for lasting relationships. Let’s keep doing this, okay?”

The corner of Loki’s mouth twitched. “Very well,” he acquiesced.

“Okay,” Darcy said again. “So. That means if something triggers you, you _talk_ to me. You tell me what’s going on inside your head. You _don’t_ just lock yourself in a closet. Deal?”

Loki hesitated for a long moment. It was against every fiber in his being to be so transparent, to reveal so much of himself, but this was Darcy, he reminded himself. If he could not rely on her, he had no business calling himself her husband.

“You have a bargain,” he agreed.

“Good,” Darcy said with a nod. “Great. Now. Feel like heading back to the lab and doing some work, or do you need time?”

“Time, unfortunately, is not our ally at the moment,” Loki told her. “We need to find the scepter as soon as possible.”

Darcy smiled faintly at him. “Then let’s get to work.”

XxxXxxX

Loki did not notice when Darcy entered Jane’s laboratory. They were on the cusp of identifying the scepter’s unique radioactive signature and had started concurrently developing an algorithm that would allow the Stark satellites to search the entire planet for it, and had been working for several hours without interruption. It was not until the scent of food wafted through the room that Loki looked around in confusion.

Darcy stood by the table with the least amount of clutter, plastic containers lined up with their lids removed. She was eating from a plate of momos, small Indian dumplings that she had craved while she had been pregnant with Elden, and which had been Loki’s introduction to Indian food in the first place.

He stared for a moment while she continued to eat silently, and then asked, “Do you have laal maas?”

“Yup,” his wife replied, pointing with her fork to a container. “Extra spicy. Just how you like it.”

Loki stood up from the laptop he had borrowed from Jane and crossed over to her. “You are a rare treasure, _elskede_ ,” he told her, finding his own plastic fork and picking up the container.

“Wait, you like Indian food?” Jane asked, wandering over as well, enticed by the smell of food.

“He likes anything spicy,” Darcy replied for him. “Mexican, Indian, Thai. Anything that will melt a normal person’s tongue off.”

“Please tell me you have non-lethal levels of spicy food,” Jane said, poking through the containers. “Ooh, tandoori chicken!”

“I still remember all your favorites,” Darcy boasted, and started on the momos again. Loki reached over and plucked one from the plate, popping it into his mouth before she could protest. “Back off,” she warned, waving her fork at him. Loki merely grinned back at her and started in on his laal maas. The advantage of favoring food that few people could tolerate was not having to share it.

“So where are you guys at?” Darcy asked with her mouth full.

“I think we’re almost there,” Jane said, distracted from her tandoori chicken already. She put the food down and went to retrieve a couple of printouts, which she shoved at Darcy. “We can probably push through the night and we’ll get it by morning.”

“No,” Darcy said firmly. “Absolutely not. Loki has had, like, two hours of sleep in the last three days. He is _not_ pulling an all-nighter.”

Loki grimaced when Jane turned to him with a concerned expression. “You didn’t tell me you hadn’t slept in _three days_ ,” she accused. “No wonder you’ve had, like, eight cups of coffee.”

“My body is naturally resistant to caffeine,” Loki muttered, shoving another forkful of food into his mouth. “It takes a greater amount to be effective.”

“It is six thirty right now,” Darcy announced. “I will let you go for another two hours. Then we are video chatting with the girls, and you are getting sleep.” She fixed Loki with a firm glare. “Understood?”

Loki was, to be honest, too tired to argue with his wife, especially since she was in the right. “Agreed,” he said instead, and focused on eating for the next few minutes. The door chime rang, making them all look up, and then the lab door opened, revealing Dr Steinz.

“Dr Steinz,” Darcy greeted, and waved invitingly. “Come on in. Do you like Indian food?”

The timid doctor blinked a few times behind her glasses. “Ah, no, thank you. It doesn’t really agree with me.”  

Loki put down his container of laal maas and turned to face the doctor. “What can we do for you, Dr Steinz?” he asked politely.

“We’ve finished the preliminary rounds of testing, and I thought you would want to hear the results right away,” the woman replied, wringing her hands together.

Loki gestured towards a chair. “Yes, of course. Please, sit.”

Dr Steinz ignored his invitation and remained where she stood. “We, ah, we didn’t have pre-exposure test results for you, Mr Odinson, and we were only able to get basic bloodwork from Dr Foster’s GP, as well as an MRI she had when she was eighteen.”

“Bad ski accident,” Jane said, nodding. “Hell of a concussion.”

Darcy frowned. “You never told me that. Is that why you hate snow?”

“No,” Jane admitted. “I hated snow long before that. My mother just refused to listen to me.”

Loki held up a hand. “Yes, we understand you had limited baseline material, but what were you able to find?” he asked, bringing the conversation back on course.

“In Dr Foster and Agent Barton, we noticed significant lack of production in serotonin and melatonin, as well as an abnormality in their reuptake inhibition,” Steinz said nervously. “We’ve also discovered that your neurotransmitters actually function similar to ours, and we’ve noticed the same discrepancy,” she continued, speaking directly to Loki.

“Oh, my god,” Jane blurted. “You’re saying that exposure to the Infinity stones is causing depression, aggression, and insomnia?”

“There are a lot of factors that could cause those changes in your neurotransmitters,” Steinz said hurriedly. “Namely trauma and stress, which you all have suffered as a result of exposure.”

“Great, so what? We need to look for depressed, tired, and aggressive people?” Darcy asked sarcastically. “That describes a _lot_ of people, not just people experimented on by Hydra.”

“Yes, this is true,” Steinz admitted. “But I wanted you to be aware of these symptoms so you could pursue proper treatment.”

“I’m fine,” Jane said stubbornly. “I feel the same as I always have. If that’s all you got from those tests…”

“It isn’t,” Steinz interrupted. She glanced between Loki, Jane, and Darcy for a moment. “Now, we have nothing to compare Mr Odinson to, as we were not able to perform pre-exposure tests, however, Agent Barton and Dr Foster do have minor but detectable changes to their personal electromagnetic fields.”

Jane snapped her fingers and pointed at Steinz. “See? _That’s_ what I can work with. Send me those results and we’ll compare them with the radioactive signature of the scepter. It’s likely that Agent Barton’s personal emf has changed to match the Mind Stones, even if in a minor capacity. And if Clint’s has changed, so will anyone who’s been experimented on by Hydra using the scepter, probably to an even greater degree. We can adapt our biothermal scanning to search for those parameters and identify them.”

Jane nodded to herself and dove to her laptop. “Steinz! Results! Now!” she barked. Steinz jumped with a faint squeaking noise and hurried out of the lab.

Loki said nothing as she left, still thinking about what she had said. An alteration in the chemicals of his brain. That… actually explained a great deal. He had for so long feared that it was his darkness that lurked inside him, feeding the anger, feeding his nightmares, but if it was a simple physiological issue… That could be resolved easy enough. Even on Asgard there were remedies for when one’s brain did not produce the right chemicals.

“Hey, babe, are you okay?”

Loki blinked and found that Darcy was standing in front of him, peering up at his face with a concerned expression. She reached for his hand and he let her take it, encasing her fingers in his. “Yes,” he said and smiled at her. “Yes, I am well.”

“Are you sure? You spaced out there for a moment.”

Loki’s smile grew a little. “Yes. If Dr Steinz is correct, then all it would take is a minor alteration of my neurotransmitters to relieve many of the burdens I carry at the moment.”

Darcy blinked. “Really? That’s what you got out of the conversation? That you need to be on antipsychotics?” She blinked a few more times. “That’s… good, actually. That is a really healthy reaction, babe.” She matched his grin.

Loki leaned down to kiss her impulsively, but she pulled away after only a few seconds, waving her hand in front of her mouth.

“Oh, my god,” Darcy gulped. “Spicy. Way too spicy. Don’t do that again.”

“My apologies,” Loki said guiltily, and handed her a bottle of water that was in one of the plastic bags she had brought in. Darcy drank half the bottle in one go and rubbed her lips fretfully. “Here,” Loki offered, taking her face in one hand and passing his thumb over her lips so he could soothe the burning sensation. “Again, I apologize.”

Darcy smiled lopsidedly at him. “Hey, it’s all good. But this whole ‘alteration of your neurotransmitters’ thing? I think it’s a really good idea. I just don’t know how effective human medication is going to be on you.”

Loki shook his head. “Asgard has methods of treating such matters,” he assured her. “When the situation with the scepter is resolved, we may return to Asgard to see it done.”

Darcy grinned even wider. “Good. I’m glad. I’m really happy, Loki.” She stepped forward to wrap her arms around his waist, burying her face in the front of his tunic. “This is what we call progress, babe.”

Loki hugged her back, leaning down to rest his cheek against her hair. “Yes, it is,” he agreed.

XxxXxxX

As he had promised, Loki only remained in Jane’s lab for another two hours. Once the two hours were up, he took his leave from Jane and discretely asked Jarvis to tell Thor to come collect Jane, as well. Jarvis also informed him that Darcy was in the Public Relations office, and that Fenris was in the shooting range with Rogers, Wilson, and Barton.

Loki headed down to the shooting range to collect his elder son, as the girls would be just as anxious to see him during their video chat as their parents. He arrived without the notice of the humans already present, and hung back to see what they were doing.

Agent Barton stood on one end of the range, Rogers and Wilson behind him. Fenris stood on the other end of the range, ears up and tail wagging slightly. There was a small pile of arrows on the ground near him, and as Loki watched, Barton drew another from his quiver, nocked it on the string of his bow, drew, and fired.

Loki had already calculated the aim of the arrow and realized it would pass a good two feet over Fenris’ head, so he made no move to defend his son. He was, however, surprised to see Fenris leap into the air and catch the arrow in his mouth, twisting in mid air to land on his feet facing the opposite direction. He turned around, holding the arrow in his teeth, tail wagging furiously.

“Holy _shit_ ,” Wilson said, laughing in disbelief as he raised a hand to cover his mouth. “Six times in a _row_.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” Rogers admitted.

“Impressive?” Barton said indignantly. “That’s fucking _amazing_. Did you see how fast he was moving?”

Fenris caught sight of Loki and dropped the arrow, bounding down the range with his tongue lolling excitedly. The three human men turned to see what had attracted his attention. Rogers and Wilson stiffened, but Bartone grinned lazily.

“Oh, hey Loki,” he greeted, waving.

“Barton,” Loki replied. “I see you are putting Fenris through his paces.”

“Dude, this kid is _awesome_ ,” Barton enthused. “You shoulda seen him on the obs course. He’s so _fast_.”

Fenris reached Loki and butted his head against Loki’s hip, demanding to be pet. Loki obliged by scratching him between his shoulderblades. “Asgardian wolves are prodigious hunters,” Loki replied mildly. “They have long been favored as companions by our warriors, and their bloodlines have been kept pure for generations.”

Rogers crossed his arms over his chest and looked thoughtfully from Fenris to Loki. “So, you created him using magic, right?”

“Magic and my own life force, yes,” Loki told him, still scratching Fenris’ shoulders.

“Which technically makes him your… offspring,” Wilson clarified.

“Yes,” Loki said again.

“Okay, cool,” Wilson said, and shoved his hands into his pocket. “He’s a pretty cool guy, your Fenris.”

Fenris gave Sam a canine grin in reply. Rogers came over and offered Fenris his knuckles. When Fenris snuffled Roger’s hand, Rogers rubbed his fingertips against the top of Fenris’ skull.

“How old is he?” Rogers asked, and then corrected himself. “Maturity wise, I guess. What’s his mental age?”

“He would be an adolescent,” Loki explained simply. “Not far from adulthood. He will live much longer than the average Asgardian wolf, but he is still a wolf, and he matured quicker than we anticipated.”

“So he’s a teenager, then?” Rogers pressed, still massaging the top of Fenris’ head.

“Why are you asking, Captain?” Loki asked, eyes narrowed.

“I just don’t know if I’m comfortable letting a teenager into the field,” Rogers admitted.

“You do not need to be concerned for Fenris’ safety,” Loki told him. “He will remain far from the front lines. His task is to protect Darcy, and I assure you I have no intention of allowing her to ever come into danger.”

Fenris made an exasperated huffing sound, rolling his green eyes at his father. Loki looked down at him. “Captain Rogers does have legitimate concerns,” he told Fenris firmly. “You are _not_ fully grown, and you are _not_ ready for active combat until you have completed your training.”

Fenris wrinkled his nose but didn’t press the issue. He’d had the same conversation with both Darcy and Loki multiple times over the past several months, and he knew by now he would lose every time. Loki patted the back of Fenris’ neck.

“We are going to call the girls,” Loki told him. “I thought you might wish to join us.” Fenris’ ears perked up and his tail whipped back and forth excitedly.

“So you guys are calling it a night?” Rogers asked.

“I am afraid so,” Loki replied. “But we are very close to being finished. We should be able to track the scepter by tomorrow.” He turned to Barton. “Dr Steinz has also finished her own tests. You should speak to her as soon as possible to discuss the results.”

Barton ran his thumb along the string of his bow. “Yeah. I’ll do that. G’night, Loki.”

“Good evening,” Loki replied politely, inclining his head. Fenris stayed at his side when he left the range, and he looked down at his son. “I am glad you are forming relationships with the Avengers,” Loki told Fenris. “You should continue to do so where you can. Those will be valuable ties in the future.” Fenris nodded solemnly, taking his father’s wisdom to heart as he always did.

Darcy was at their guest suite when they arrived, and she greeted them excitedly at the door. “Jarvis told me how to use the TV for our video call,” she announced, gesturing back toward the television.

When they called the house, it was Joanna who answered. “Hey, guys!” she greeted. “How are you? Did you get any sleep at all?”

“Little bit, yeah,” Darcy replied, waving back. Loki sat on one side of her, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees. Fenris sat on the couch on her other side, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted.

“Joanna, thank you for agreeing to help watch the children on such a short notice,” Loki said sincerely.

Joanna scoffed. “Any excuse to see my grandchildren,” she said dismissively. “Speaking of which…” She turned the laptop around to reveal the six Lokidottir-Lewis girls crammed onto the couch. The six-year-olds all started talking at once at the sight of their parents until Loki straightened and placed his finger over his lips and they all fell instantly silent.

“One at a time, if you please,” Loki said with a mild smile. “Sylvi, why don’t you go first?”

They let each of the girls talk about their day, and how excited they had been to stay home from school, and how much they missed their parents and Fenris. Loki told them how Fenris had been able to spend time with Hawkeye, Captain America, and the Falcon, much to the girls’ intense jealousy.

Once the girls had each had their turn, they were sent off to get ready for bed, and Brenna took their place with Elden on her lap. Darcy made a small sound next to Loki, leaning forward. Elden, correctly identifying his parents, reached for the screen with chubby hands. Darcy made that small sound again and Loki glanced over at her to find that her eyes were filling with tears. He reached over and took her hand in his, and she clung to him tightly.

“He has been rather discontented all day,” Brenna told them. “I suspect he is missing the both of you. It has not, however, affected his appetite.”

“He didn’t go down for a nap this morning,” Joanna added off-screen.

“No, he did not,” Brenna agreed. “Though he fell asleep this afternoon while Lady Joanna was holding him.”

“Poor baby was exhausted,” Joanna said.

Darcy gave a watery smile. “I miss him, too,” she admitted. “God, it’s only been one day and I miss him so much.”

“Of course you do, sweetheart,” Joanna said sympathetically, sitting down next to Brenna. “This is the first time you’ve been separated from him.”

Darcy wiped at her eyes with her free hand. “I didn’t think it would be this hard.”

Loki did not want to admit, but it was hard for himself, as well. He hated any separation with any of his children, biological or adopted. But it was an unfortunate necessity, and this was the cost of keeping them safe.

“It’s not forever,” Joanna assured Darcy. “And think about it this way, Darce, it’s not like he’s going to grow up while you’re gone.”

Darcy laughed weakly. “You’re right there.” She squeezed Loki’s hand and slung her other arm around Fenris’ shoulders, hugging her step-son to her side. “Hey, Brenna, can you maybe send us pictures of the kids? It might help.”

“I can certainly do that, my lady,” Brenna assured her.

“Thank you,” Darcy said, and ended the call rather abruptly. Loki looked down at her with a slight frown. “I didn’t want him to see me cry,” Darcy explained. Fenris pressed his cold, wet nose against her neck, making her yelp and flinch, and then laugh. “Thanks, Fen,” she said ruefully.

Loki leaned toward Darcy and cupped her face in his free hand. “You do not have to be here, _elskede_ ,” he told her gravely. “You can return home.”

Darcy shook her head. “No. I’m needed here. If Hydra tries to use the Mind Stone, I’m one of the few people it _won’t_ work on. Besides, you need me.”

“I can survive without you,” Loki told her.

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need me,” Darcy insisted. She hugged Fenris closer and he licked her ear.

That was, of course, the moment the windows blew in.


	6. With Our Backs To The Wall, Darkness Will Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing good on this update-on-Sunday thing, aren't I? I know it's not as often as I used to update, but hey, at least it's regular.
> 
> Not a lot going on this week, guys, so just enjoy and as always let me know what you think!

Loki’s first concern was the glass. It was safety glass, so the shards were not sharp, but it was traveling at extremely high velocities. He was fairly certain that he would not be injured; his skin was remarkably tough, and the Asgardian clothing he was wearing would be enough to deflect most of the shards. But he was not concerned for himself.

 

Loki acted without pause as soon as the windows shattered. He flung his hands out, green sparks flowing from his fingers until they formed a barrier in front of his wife and son. The glass impacted the energy shield and pulverised to sand, spraying the three of them with stinging particles.

 

Darcy screamed, more startled than afraid, and flung herself at Fenris, forcing him down onto the couch, protective instinct kicking in. Loki, satisfied the barrier would hold, was up and moving by the time the men in black tactical gear came through the windows still attached to their wires.

 

The first man died with Loki’s dagger in his throat, gurgling horribly as blood soaked the cloth mask over his mouth. Loki yanked his dagger out, blood spraying from the severed jugular. He whirled around, summoning his armor with a thought, just in time to catch a burst of machine gun fire directly to the chest.

 

“ _ Loki _ !” he heard Darcy scream.

 

The force of the bullets flung him backwards off his feet, and his back hit the floor with a thump that would have driven the breath from his body, had he any left. He still had presence of mind, however, to think,  _ well, that was not terrible clever of you, was it? _

 

A black-clad man stepped over Loki, straddling him and swinging his gun down to point directly at Loki’s face. Loki had a half second to curse his own impetuousness, and then Fenris body checked the assailant, his teeth closing over the man’s gun hand.

 

Loki gasped and coughed, drawing a deep, pained breath. He had cracked ribs, possible sternum, as well. Nothing a couple of days of rest wouldn’t heal. But he had a more immediate problem of several more heavily-armed men in the same room as his family.

 

He rolled over onto his stomach and pushed upright, turning around to see Darcy kick the coffee table into one of the attackers and then dive behind the couch. Probably broke a few of her toes, too, but Darcy was tough.

 

There were eight attackers, each armed with fully automatic assault rifles. Seven now, as one was still choking on his own blood on the floor. Fenris was occupied with one of them, but two of the remainder were now going to their teammate’s aid. Two more stalked around the couch towards Darcy. The last two assailants prowled toward Loki, gun tracking up to Loki’s face.

 

Loki had less than a second to make a decision.

 

He flung his free hand out towards the man Fenris was attacking, sending two green energy darts into the man’s chest, piercing the assailant’s body armor and dropping him. “Fenris,  _ run! _ ” Loki yelled.

 

Fenris was a dutiful son. He always obeyed his parents, even when he did not want to. Fenris bolted away from the downed attacker and bounded across living room. The front door of the apartment was not meant to withstand full-body attacks from a 120lb wolf with a great deal of motivation. Fenris knocked it right off its hinges and kept going without missing a beat. 

 

Which left Loki free to deal with the rest of the men. Darcy backed away from the couch, her red, wooden staves in her hands, not that they would have any use against men with guns, but Darcy was a great deal better with them than she had been two years ago.

 

Loki lunged toward the first assailant, bloody dagger in one hand and teeth bared. The assailant raised the butt of his gun as if he intended to slam it into Loki’s face. He didn’t intend to shoot Loki. He was aiming to disable. The incongruity of it stopped Loki cold.

 

_ Why? _

 

Obvious, really. Leverage. Or information. But surely they were not so stupid as to think they could subdue  _ him _ with a few machine guns. It would take a great deal more than that to force information from him.

 

Loki had hesitated for only a brief millisecond; his realization had not taken long enough to stop his attack, and a second assailant went down drowning in his own blood. The remaining five now realized that Loki might be more than they bargained for, and opened fire on Loki.

 

Thankfully, Loki’s magic worked as quick as thought, and he had a shield up before the bullets reached him. He angled it to send the ricochets upward into solid steel and concrete. Darcy, brave fool that she was, took advantage of the assailants’ distraction and slammed her staves over the nearest one’s helmet.

 

“Darcy, get  _ out _ of here!” Loki bit out, and shoved the shield forward until it impacted one of the assailants, knocking him off his feet. There were four assailants left, and now two were off balance. Of the remaining two, however, one of them was turning towards Darcy.

 

The unfortunate reality was that the shield took up an extreme amount of energy and concentration, and Loki could not perform any other spell while maintaining it. He could not protect himself and save Darcy.

 

It did not even take a moment for him to decide.

 

He dropped the shield in front of him and thrust his hand, palm out, at Darcy, flinging her backwards just as the assailant nearest to her opened fire. The bullets chewed into the wall instead of Darcy, and Loki was allowed to feel a brief moment of relief before he was struck by a barrage of bullets.

 

Most of the bullets impacted his armor, sparking pain through his already-cracked rib cage. One of the bullets grazed the side of his head, snapping his head to the side. Loki stumbled backwards, raising his arm against the barrage of bullets. His armor might be bulletproof, but the impact was still enough to hurt.

 

There was a metallic  _ clang _ , and then the bullets stopped.

 

Loki lowered his arm to see Barton standing in the doorway, Fenris behind him. Barton had his bow in one hand and was reaching over his shoulder for another arrow. The assailant in front of Loki slumped to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his neck. The remaining three men decided that there was no point in subtlety anymore and filled the room with bullets. Loki saw Darcy go down, and his heart stopped as cold rage flooded his body.

 

There was a crashing in his ears that drowned out all other sound, and the world went red around the edges. He could smell the blood rushing through the assailants’ veins, the warm, salty richness of it, and he wanted nothing more to see it rush forth into the air, to extinguish all the warm-bloods, to turn their hearts into chunks of ice and shatter them to pieces.

 

He felt the ice well up from the cold core of power in his chest, rippling down his arms to form claws at the ends of his fingers. He lunged forward, striking out with his right hand, and shredded the throat of the man standing closest to him. The next one went down with an arrow in his face, and the last…

 

The last one, Loki didn’t remember. The next thing he knew he was kneeling over Darcy’s prone body, reaching out to turn her over, to see her face, but his hands were still encased in ice, his skin turning blue from the cold, ridges standing out like scars. He would hurt her, if he touched her. Loki recoiled at the thought, scrabbling backwards until his back hit the ruined sofa.

 

He had to make it stop, the cold, he had to make it go away. No one could see him like this. They would hate him, lock him up, kill him, cast him out. He was a monster, a creature of darkness, a horrible nightmare fit only to creep around in the shadows…

 

Fenris was beside him, shoving his cold, wet nose against his cheek, and then the wolf began licking him. Fenris did not generally lick people, he knew that was frowned upon, but he licked at Loki’s cheek, whining high in his throat, nuzzling Loki’s face until the red receded from the edges of his vision. Loki lifted his hand to bury his fingers, now pale and free of ice, in the thick fur ruff around Fenris’ neck.

 

He heard Darcy groan, and then cough. “Ow,” she said in a small voice. Loki looked up sharply. Barton crouched beside Darcy, helping her sit up. There was a small gash in Darcy’s forehead that leaked blood, and her cheek was bruised and scraped. Otherwise she was perfectly unharmed.

 

“You good?” Barton demanded.

 

“How did you know?” Darcy demanded.

 

“I’m next door,” Barton explained. “I heard the shots.”

 

“Loki! Darcy!” Thor’s voice boomed from the hallway, and then Thor burst into the room, Mjolnir in one hand. Rogers skidded to a halt behind him, holding his shield on his arm.

 

“What the hell happened?” Rogers demanded, staring at the carnage. “Is everyone okay?”

 

“Peachy,” Darcy muttered, and glanced over at Loki. “Babe? You okay?”

 

Loki jerked his head in a nod, not trusting himself to speak. He had thought he’d lost her, just for one second, and it had been enough to bring the Jotun out from the darkness he kept it in. That could never, ever happen again, under any circumstances.

 

Barton got up and crossed over to Loki, dropping to one knee in front of him. Loki flinched away at the proximity, and Barton held up a hand. “Easy, pal,” the archer said. “Looks like you got clipped in the head. Lemme take a look.”

 

Loki swallowed and forced himself to remain still while Barton took his chin in his free hand and tilted Loki’s head down to examine the gash in his scalp. “Head hurt?” Barton asked. “Ears ringing?”

 

“Y-yes,” Loki managed.

 

“Figured,” Barton said, and let go. “I don’t know what it takes to give you a concussion, but my guess is you’ve got one. And that head wound is gonna need stitches.”

 

Heavy footsteps clonked up the hallway, and Stark appeared in the doorway in full Iron Man armor. He looked around at the destroyed apartment, and then the face mask slid out of the way. He glared directly at Loki.

 

“What the hell did you do?” Stark demanded.

 

XxxXxxX

 

Loki was refusing to have his head wound stitched closed. Darcy didn’t press the issue because it would probably be completely healed in a couple of days. It had already stopped bleeding, anyway. At least he let a nurse clean the wound out and listen to his chest. He claimed his ribs had already stopped hurting, which Darcy knew was probably a lie, but the nurse didn’t seem too worried, so she let that slide, too.

 

Loki was just finishing up in the examination room when Jarvis sent a text to Darcy’s phone.  _ Please rendezvous with the Avengers in the common room _ . Darcy tapped her phone against her hand and looked over at Loki.

 

“How you feeling?” she asked.

 

“I am fine,” he insisted.

 

“You sure?” Darcy pressed. “Because the last time I saw you go blue, Tyr almost killed you.”

 

“I am fine,” Loki said again, his voice almost a growl.

 

“All righty then,” Darcy said dubiously, and tossed his tunic at him. “Get dressed. The others want to debrief.”

 

Loki pulled his tunic over his head. “Yes, I would very much like to hear how eight highly armed operatives got past Starks legendary security,” he said acerbically as he straightened the garment.

 

“Go easy on him,” Darcy said. “It’s a big tower. Things fall through the cracks.”

 

“You were almost killed,” Loki reminded her stiffly.

 

“But I  _ wasn’t _ ,” she retorted. “So keep pointy objects away from Stark, okay?”

 

“I shall endeavor to  _ try _ ,” Loki replied with ill grace.

 

The Avengers plus Pepper, Jane, and Maria Hill were waiting for them when they got back to the common room. Jane hurried over to hug Darcy. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said softly. “When we heard the shots, I was so worried.”

 

“We’re fine,” Darcy assured her.

 

Jane pulled away and looked up at Loki, her eyes on the scabbed-over gash just above his left ear. “How bad is it?” she asked.

 

“Hardly anything to be worried about,” Loki told her with a tired smile. She nodded but didn’t look convinced.

 

“We should get started,” Hill announced, tapping her tablet impatiently against her leg. She raised it and tapped it a few times. The jumbo-sized TV lit up with the images of three men, along with a brief paragraph of data next to them. “Facial recognition gave us identities of three of the attackers, all of them former SHIELD. I think we can safely assume they were Hydra. Which leads us to the question of  _ why _ Hydra would hit us at the tower.” 

 

“Strike while our guard is down?” Steve asked from where he was leaning against the couch, his arms crossed over his chest. He had shadows under his eyes and Darcy guess he had had about as much sleep as she had.

 

“Nah,” Clint replied. He was perched on the back of another sofa, still wearing the same ratty hoodie he had been that morning. “Even if they thought our guard was down, hit the place where it’s known  _ all _ of us would be? That’s reckless and stupid. They had to know this was a bum op. No one was walking away from this.”

 

“Suicide mission, then,” Natasha said, nodding. She narrowed her green eyes and looked over at Darcy. “Were Darcy and Loki the target, or did they just use that apartment as an entry point? It was empty until this morning.”

 

“I still want to know how they got into the building in the first place,” Stark interrupted. He was wearing the black undersuit he generally wore under the armor, not having had an opportunity to change.

 

Hill sighed. “Security measures for the entire floor were deactivated from the inside. Someone hacked the system and used my credentials to shut it down.”

 

Loki stirred next to Darcy, fixing Hill with a flat stare. “And we are certain it was not, in fact, you yourself?” he asked in a neutral voice.

 

Hill returned his stare with equal emotion. Natasha spoke up. “Take it easy, Loki. Maria’s one of us.”

 

“So was Sitwell,” Loki said, still staring at Hill. “And look how  _ he _ turned out.”

 

Steve stepped forward, holding a hand out. “I’ll vouch for Hill,” he told Loki. “I’ve fought beside her. She can be trusted.”

 

Loki blinked and turned to Darcy. “There is a simple solution to the question,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“I don’t think she’s Hydra,” Darcy said, shifting uncomfortably. “I don’t particularly want to read her. God only knows what I’ll see inside her head.”

 

Hill blinked a couple of times, drawing a sharp breath. Her star transferred to Darcy with increased intensity. “I think Hydra was after Lewis,” she announced abruptly. Everyone turned to look at her. Loki straightened.

 

“Explain yourself,” he demanded.

 

“Hydra has access to all SHIELD files,” Hill said. “Including files on Lewis that detail exactly who and what she is, and what she’s capable of doing. If you were an evil Nazi organization hell bent on wreaking death and destruction, wouldn’t you want to take out an enemy that is psychic and can see the future?”

 

Natasha shrugged one shoulder. “She has a point.”

 

Dr Banner, who to this point had not said a word, cleared his throat. “So, if Darcy was the target all along, and they knew she was with Loki, why’d they only send eight guys?”

 

“Because they  _ didn’t _ know about Loki,” Stark said. “The last the files on Loki said, he died… where was it… the Hall of Stars?” He snapped his fingers and pointed at Natasha. “Because when Red released all of the SHIELD files, none of Loki’s were released.”

 

“I made that decision,” Steve said, giving Stark a firm look. “The public didn’t need to know that Loki was the one who led the Chitauri, not when it wasn’t Loki’s fault.”

 

“Regardless,” Stark said, waving a hand. “According to SHIELD, and now Hydra, Loki is KIA, so they weren’t planning on him being there.”

 

“And since they failed, they still don’t know he’s helping us,” Clint spoke up. “So we got an ace up our sleeve. Nice.”

 

Stark snapped his fingers again and pointed at Hill. “First priority. Find our mole. I want him and I want him gone. Yesterday. Find him and put him in the deepest, darkest hole you can find. No guest of mine gets killed on my watch, even if I don’t like him.”

 

“Jarvis is running through all the employee backgrounds right now,” Pepper spoke up for the first time, checking something on her phone. She was wearing a Stark Industries t-shirt that was clearly Tony’s and a pair of yoga pants. “Looking for anyone that has the qualifications needed for that kind of hack and any kind of red flag we missed the first time.”

 

“If they’re Hydra, there’s not going to be any red flags,” Natasha said, shaking her head. “They’re cover is going to be so deep they probably don’t even remember who they are anymore.”

 

“We’ll be looking for anyone hired in the last two years, with secondary or tertiary connections with SHIELD,” Hill explained. “I’ve input conditions in the search to identify markers of false backgrounds.”

 

Natasha nodded, mollified. “We’ll need to take them alive, though,” she pointed out. “They’ll have valuable intel.”

 

“Agreed,” Hill said.

 

Stark raised his hand. “I have one other question,” he said, staring at Loki. He lowered his hand and pointed at Loki. “Since when does this guy turn blue? Is that, like, a thing now? Or has he always been blue and we just haven’t seen it? Because I gotta tell you, I’m disappointed. All the blue-related humor we’ve been missing out on.”

 

Darcy felt Loki stiffen beside her, and she reached out to put her hand on his arm. Thor stepped between Loki and Stark, frowning at the dark-haired inventor.

 

“You know my brother is a Jotun,” Thor rumbled. “The person that you see is a mask placed on him by our parents, to allow him to live on Asgard. It would seem, in times of extreme duress, that the mask slips, and he is shown in his true form.”

 

“You said he was a Jotun,” Stark agreed. “But you never said he looked like an evil smurf.”

 

“Shut the hell up, Stark,” Darcy snapped. She stepped forward and around Thor. “You know, I get it. Your building got trashed. People died.  _ You _ almost died. Guess what? I was there. I  _ felt _ those people die. All of them. And it pissed me off. Just like it pisses you off. Good. That means you’re a decent person. But lay the hell off of Loki. It was not his fault. You are literally blaming the first victim.”

 

“Hey, I make fun of everyone,” Stark protested, poking Darcy in the shoulder. “Don’t think Blue’s Clue’s over there is special just because--”

 

Darcy slapped his hand out of the way and stepped forward again. “ _ Don’t _ call him that,” she growled. “Or Magic Fingers, or Evil Smurf, or anything other than his  _ name _ . You don’t have the right to make fun of him for how he looks. That’s fucking  _ racist _ . So next time you want to make a snarky remark, keep it to your damn self.”

 

“I am not racist,” Stark retorted, drawing himself up indignantly. “I ridicule on a non-discriminatory basis, regardless of age, gender or--”

 

“ _ Guys _ ,” Steve interrupted loudly. Darcy turned to look at him. Steve gestured to where Loki had been standing. “Loki’s gone.” Darcy twisted to scan the room and found that Steve was right.

 

“Shit,” she muttered. She jabbed Stark hard in the chest. “This is  _ your _ fault.”

 

“How is it my fault?” he demanded. “If he can’t take a joke, how am I supposed to--”

 

“Tony, give it a rest,” Steve snapped. “Darcy’s right. Stop riding Loki so hard.” He looked over at Darcy. “Do you know where he went?”

 

Darcy sighed. “I’ll find him,” she said wearily.

 

XxxXxxX

 

She found him back in their guest suite, sitting on the now-empty living room floor, staring at the wooden boards put up in front of the shattered windows. The glass and damaged furniture had been cleaned up with startling efficiency, so it was safe for Darcy to sit down next to him.

 

“You okay?” she asked softly.

 

“Am I required to answer?” he asked sarcastically.

 

“You know, Stark can be a dick sometimes, but you shouldn’t let him get under your skin,” Darcy told him, putting her hand on his knee.

 

“He seemed quite concerned about the color of my skin,” Loki said darkly.

 

Darcy stared at him for a moment. “Is that what you’re upset about? That you went blue?”

 

He pressed his lips together. “I never wanted you to see me like that.”

 

“Why?” Darcy demanded.

 

Loki shook his head. “I did not want you to see me as…” he trailed off.

 

“As a monster?” Darcy finished for him. He nodded wordlessly. She reached up and put her hand on his cheek, turning his face until he was forced to look at her. “I will never think you’re a monster,” she told him firmly. “No matter what color your skin is.”

 

He leaned away from her touch. “How can you say that? You were there during the war. You saw what the Jotnar did.”

 

“And I saw what the Asgardians did, too,” Darcy reminded him. “There were monsters on both sides of that war, and I promise you, Loki, you are not one.”

 

“You cannot change what I am by wishful thinking,” he replied bitterly.

 

Darcy ground her teeth together in frustration. “Show me,” she ordered, moving around so she sat facing him, their knees touching. Loki tilted his head questioningly at her. “Show me what you really look like, under the mask.”

 

“Darcy, no,” Loki said softly, shaking his head.

 

She reached out and slipped her hand into his, holding tightly. “Hey. I promised you I would never leave, no matter what. You’ve got nothing to be afraid of. Show me, Loki.”

 

“Why?” it was his turn to demand. “Why would you want to see that?”

 

“So I can show you that I love you no matter what you look like,” Darcy told him simply. “Let me prove it to you.”

 

Loki stared at her for a long time, his green eyes unreadable. “You really want to see me, as that… thing?”

 

“As a Jotun,” Darcy corrected. “Yes, I do.”

 

He sighed and glanced upwards briefly before looking back at. “You should be careful what you wish for,  _ elskede _ .” His eyes fluttered shut as he concentrated. He seemed to struggle for a moment, the hand clutched in Darcy’s turning cold as ice, and then his pale skin began to darken to sapphire blue, scar-like ridges appearing over his face and bare arms. He opened his eyes a moment later, and they were solid red, blood-red, broken only by his pupils.

 

“Do you see me?” he asked, and his voice was slightly changed due to the new shape of his teeth. “Is this what you desired?”

 

Darcy had never gotten a good look at Loki in this form, and she stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. “Oh my god,” she breathed, and lifted her free hand to trace along the ridges on his cheekbone. “You’re beautiful.”

 

Loki blinked. He had clearly not been expecting that reaction. “How can you say that?” he muttered self-consciously, and turned his head away.

 

“Because it’s  _ true _ ,” Darcy insisted, letting go of his hand so she could take his face with both of hers, turning him back to look at her. “You look amazing.” Her fingers went back to the lines over his cheekbones, his forehead, the bridge of his nose, down along his neck to disappear under the collar of his shirt. “You are incredible,” she whispered, and leaned forward to kiss him.

 

He stiffened, but didn’t pull away, and his lips were cold against hers. Not numbing cold, just cold enough to make the difference between their temperatures…  _ interesting _ . She crawled into his lap, hooking an arm around his neck so he couldn’t pull away, and flicked her tongue against the seal of his lips.

 

Loki growled in annoyance, hands curling around her hips as if to peel her off of him, but he stopped himself, and then began to kiss her back, meeting her tongue with his in an almost tentative manner, as if he was kissing her for the first time.

 

His tongue was just as cold as his lips, and it sent shivers down Darcy’s spine when he slipped it into her mouth, cautiously exploring. He instantly pulled back, breaking off the kiss, much to her disappointment.

 

“Does it hurt you?” he asked, his voice somewhat hoarse. “The cold.”

 

“No,” Darcy assured him. “It’s nice. Like cold water on a hot day. Except totally better.”

 

He frowned, dark brows knitting together. “Truly?”

 

Darcy touched his lips with one fingertip, tracing along the bottom one. “What’s it like for you?” she asked. “Me being warm. Is it uncomfortable for you like this?”

 

His tongue darted out to wet his lips and her fingertip, and for a second she forgot to breathe. “No,” he admitted. “It is like… holding your hands to the fire, on a winter’s night.”

 

Darcy grinned at him wickedly, and leaned down to kiss him again. This time he kissed her back with more enthusiasm. “I told you,” she murmured against his mouth a few moments later. “I don’t think you’re a monster.” He didn’t reply, and Darcy jumped when he slipped his hand under her t-shirt, icy fingers trailing up her back.

 

“Mmm, no,” Darcy said, breaking off the kiss again. “No. First we are checking in with Steve to make sure they don’t need us for the rest of the night, and then we are getting a new place to sleep.”

 

Loki raised his eyebrows at her. “And then?”

 

She tapped her finger against his lips again. “ _ Then _ , I will consider it. But only if you promise to sleep afterwards.”

 

He nipped at her fingertip. “You have my word.”

 

Darcy sat back with a smug smile and feathered her fingers over his forehead one last time. “Okay then.”

 

The blue faded to milk-white, the ridges disappearing into smooth skin, and after a moment Loki had returned to his Aesir disguise. Darcy took his chin in one hand and tilted his face up. “We are going to have to experiment with that later,” she told him, and kissed him once more.

 

“Perhaps,” he replied, and did not sound enthusiastic. “But you are right. “We have duties to attend to.”

 

Darcy started to stand, but Loki kept his hold on her, pinning her in place. “Darcy,” he said in a low voice. “Hydra came after you. After  _ you _ .”

 

Darcy looked down at him. “I know,” she said softly.

 

“Whatever happens,” Loki told her. “I will keep you  _ safe _ . Whatever it takes. To whatever end.”

 

Darcy lifted her chin. “I know,” she said again.

 

Loki’s eyes glittered. “Then I have your blessing?” he asked, his voice deadly calm.

 

Darcy took a deep breath. “You do whatever you have to, to ensure the safety of our children,” she told him.

 

Loki hissed in a deep breath and then lunged forward, capturing her mouth with his, biting down on her lower lip, as if they were sealing a contract. Darcy was fairly certain she was going to regret her words at some point in the near future. But she reminded herself that it was for their children.

  
She  _ would _ do whatever it took to keep them safe.


	7. We Are The Warriors That Built This Town From Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. *kicks the floor sheepishly* I know, I know, it's been three weeks since my last update. I am so, so sorry. Remember the warrant audit that we did last year? Well, it was time for this years, and it took longer than I anticipated. So no writing at work. And my weekends have been crazy and/or mostly occupied with catching up on sleep, so no writing on my off days, either. I try not to take breaks without warning you guys, so again, I am really, truly sorry.
> 
> In penance, here is a nice long chappie with plenty of excitement! Enjoy!

Darcy walked into Jane’s lab the next morning to find Jane doing her victory dance. It was less a dance and more a vibration of pure energy plus however much coffee she had had so far that day. In this case it was a lot.

 

“Did you figure it out?” Darcy demanded, watching Jane hop from foot to foot as she peered over Loki’s shoulder, spinning a pen in her fingers.

 

“Yes!” Jane exclaimed. “Yes, yes, yes, yes! We got it! We isolated the unique radioactive signature of the Mind Stone and now we can track it! We just have to upload it to the Stark satellite network!”

 

“Okay, awesome,” Darcy said, nodding. She walked over and handed Loki one of the paper coffee cups she was carrying, which he took without looking, his focus intent on the laptop in front of him. “Have you told the others yet?”

 

“No,” Loki said slowly. “I am still verifying that we did not make any mistakes.”

 

“We didn’t!” Jane protested, still unable to stand still. “We did it!”

 

“ _ Yes _ , we did,” Loki agreed irately. “But it still must be verified!”

 

“ _ I _ didn’t make any mistakes, and  _ you _ never make mistakes,” Jane insisted. “It’s good! I’m telling you, it’s good!”

 

Loki finally sat back, eyebrows raised. “Yes, it appears to be.” He looked down at the cup in his hand as if surprised it was there. “Oh. Thank you.”

 

Jane spun around in a complete circle, then lunged forward and grabbed Darcy by the shoulders. “Where is Stark?” she demanded. “We need his approval before we upload it to the network.”

 

“He’s watching Natasha and Hill interview their short list of Hydra moles,” Darcy replied, unfazed by Jane’s antics. She’s spent a good two years as Jane’s personal and lab assistant, and was quite familiar with the astrophysicist’s idiosyncrasies. 

 

“I need to talk to him,” Jane said, grabbed the coffee cup out of Darcy’s hands, and darted out the door. Darcy turned to stare as Jane disappeared down the hall, and pulled the third coffee cup from the paper carrying tray she’d set on the table.

 

“So,” Darcy said, turning to look at Loki. “Success, eh?”

 

Loki nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “It would appear so.” He blinked and looked down at the cup. “What is this?”

 

“Peppermint mocha,” Darcy told him. “You’re in a rut. You haven’t had anything but cinnamon lattes since you discovered lattes.”

 

Loki frowned. “Hmm.” He tasted the coffee again. “It is not terrible.”

 

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Okay. If you figured out the tracking thing, why don’t you sound more excited?”

 

Loki gave her a skeptical look. “Since when am I excited about anything?”

 

“Fair point,” Darcy admitted. “But you still look, I dunno, disappointed somehow.”

 

“I am not disappointed,” Loki corrected. “I am… cautious. Tracking the Mind Stone is only the beginning. We still must face it in battle, and we have no intelligence on how Hydra has found use for it.”

 

“Well, lucky for us, we have a team of the baddest of all the badasses to handle it,” Darcy said confidently.

 

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?”

 

Darcy leaned over so they were nose to nose. “Indeed,” she echoed teasingly. “And I’m including you in that count.”

 

Loki pretended to look insulted. “You would count me in with  _ that _ motley assortment of thugs and buffoons?”

 

“Are you calling your brother a thug and buffoon?” Darcy demanded.

 

Loki reached out and took gentle hold of her arm, pulling her down towards him. “I am calling my brother the  _ king _ of thugs and buffoons.”

 

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” Darcy murmured, tilting her head in anticipation of kissing him.

 

The lights overhead shut off for a split second and came back red just as the lab door slammed shut with a loud bang. Darcy jumped and whirled around, slamming her coffee onto the table. Loki was on his feet in an instant, stepping around her towards the door.

 

“Jarvis!” Darcy called out. “What’s going on?”

 

The AI didn’t respond, and a feeling of dread settled in the pit of Darcy’s stomach. “Loki, hold onto me,” Darcy instructed. Loki frowned at her but obeyed, slipping his arm around her waist. Darcy took three deep breaths and then flung her awareness away from her body, sending her norn-senses throughout the building. Her scan took mere milliseconds, and she slammed roughly back into her body a heartbeat later. It was only Loki’s hold on her that kept her upright.

 

“What did you see?” Loki demanded.

 

“Fen is safe,” Darcy said, trying to regain her equilibrium. “He got locked in our suite. The whole building is on lockdown. The ones who can are evacuating but a lot of people are trapped.”

 

“Did you see who is doing this?” Loki asked.

 

Darcy shook her head. “No. I didn’t… I couldn’t… The building is too big. And they might not even be in the Tower.”

 

Loki pulled Darcy tighter against his side. “We need to find Jane and Thor,” he said firmly. “That is our first priority.”

 

Darcy nodded. Right. Family first. That made sense. The lab blinked out of existence around them and then the corridor outside the lab appeared. The momentary spell of motion sickness, combined with Darcy’s norn-trance-induced vertigo, was too much for her to contain, and she lurched away from Loki so she could throw up her breakfast and what little coffee she’d managed to get down.

 

“Urk,” she said miserably.

 

“Darcy,” Loki said impatiently, and grabbed her arm, turning her towards him. He put his hands on either side of her head, and the nausea vanished as suddenly as it had come. “Where is Jane?”

 

“She’s in the elevator,” Darcy said, already moving. “It got stuck two floors down.”

 

“I will fetch her,” Loki told her. “Find Thor and I will join you as soon as I can.”

 

“Got it,” Darcy replied, and changed directions. As she hurried off, she felt her phone ring in her pocket. She snatched it up and looked at the screen. The caller ID said “Jarvis” so she answered it. “Hello?”

 

“Lewis!” It was Stark. “How… Why am I talking to you?”

 

“How should I know?” Darcy demanded. “ _ You _ called  _ me _ .”

 

“I was  _ trying _ to conference call the Avengers,” Stark retorted. “ _ You _ are not an Avenger.”

 

“If I may, sir,” Jarvis cut in. “None of the Avengers’ mobile phones are online. Miss Lewis’ and Mr Odinson’s are the only devices receiving service, and I assumed that you would not like to speak with Mr Odinson, sir.”

 

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Stark muttered. “I thought it was just me. I had to jury-rig my phone to get a signal. Lewis, where are you?”

 

“Uh, floor 99, fire exit stairway,” Darcy replied. “Thor is on floor 97. I’m heading to him.”

 

“Well, get him and get down to 88. As much as I hate to say this, but I need him to use his remodeling skills to get me out of this observation room.”

 

“What about Natasha and Hill?” Darcy demanded, rushing down the stairs as fast as she could without stumbling over her own feet.

 

“Oh, yeah, they’re stuck too,” Stark said.

 

“Okay, we’ll be down as soon as possible,” Darcy replied somewhat breathlessly. “But I gotta find Steve, Clint, and Sam, too.”

 

“Jarvis, you got a bead on Cap, Hawkeye, and Wings?”

 

“As I already informed you, sir, I seem to have lost connectivity with the building security system. Right now I am operating solely from your mobile device.”

 

“Fantastic,” Stark muttered. “Just get moving, Lewis.”

 

“I  _ am _ ,” Darcy bit out. “Call me if something catches fire.”

 

“Har har,” Stark retorted, and disconnected the call.

 

Darcy shoved her phone in her pocket and lunged out of the stairwell doors at floor 97 just in time to scream in surprise and flatten herself against the wall as most of a security door flew across the hallway to slam into the opposite wall. Thor stepped through the newly-opened doorway and looked around.

 

“Darcy!” he exclaimed, catching sight of her. “Are you well?”

 

“I’m fine,” Darcy said shakily. “I’m good. Uh, Stark is stuck on floor 88 in an observation room with Natasha and Hill.”

 

“What of Jane?” Thor demanded. “Do you know where she is?”

 

“Yeah, she was stuck in the elevator but Loki should have gotten her out by now,” Darcy replied, recovering herself. Loki chose that moment to appear at Thor’s elbow, but to his credit, Thor didn’t react other than turning and grabbing his younger brother’s shoulder.

 

“Jane?” he asked urgently.

 

“Safe, with Fenris,” Loki replied.

 

Darcy stepped toward the two Asgardians. “Thor, you get down to level 88 and get Stark, Natasha, and Hill out. Loki and I will locate Sam, Clint, and Steve. We’ll rendezvous with you on 88.”

 

Thor nodded, accepting her orders, and headed towards the stairwell. Loki looked down at Darcy. “Well?” he asked. “Lead the way.”

 

It took a moment to determine that Clint, Sam, and Steve were all, thankfully, in one place: the private gym for residents of the Tower. Loki made three quick trips and all of them were in the corridor shortly, recovering from the rapid teleportation.

 

“Anyone know what the hell is going on?” Sam asked, leaning against the wall to fight the momentary vertigo.

 

“The Tower’s on lockdown and Jarvis has been sidelined to Stark’s phone,” Darcy replied, grateful that she hadn’t had to take another teleportation trip.

 

“Wait, Jarvis was knocked offline?” Clint demanded, frowning. “There are so many redundancies keeping that from happening. Anyone trying would have to be in the--”

 

“Server room,” Sam finished for him.

 

Steve nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

 

Loki held up a hand. “I think it would be more prudent if you and I went, Captain. Barton and Wilson should go with Darcy to rendezvous with the rest of your team on level 88. This could all be a ploy to keep us busy while Hydra launches an attack.”

 

Steve eyed Loki for a moment, and then nodded again. “Okay. If you’re sure.”

 

Loki looked down at Darcy. “Is it even worth my while to tell you to be careful?”

 

Darcy gave him a withering look and he sighed. “Yes,” he said. “That’s what I feared.”

 

Darcy made a shooing motion. “Go on. Get going.”

 

Loki shook his head at her and turned to Steve. “Ready, Captain?”

 

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Of all the Avengers, Captain Rogers was, in Loki’s opinion, the most competent. This did, of course, include his brother. Captain Roger’s case was also helped by Darcy’s high esteem. So, when forced to work with the Avengers in a crisis, of course Loki was going to choose Rogers.

 

There was no time to get Roger’s trademark shield, but Loki knew Rogers was a skilled enough warrior without it. If their enemy turned out to have guns, then Rogers would be able to take one. Simple enough.

 

Or at least, it should have been.

 

They did not make it to the server room initially. They were still in the stairwell heading upwards when there was a metallic clanking noise and Loki’s extended senses picked up life forms above them. He shoved Rogers against the wall just as a barrage of bullets ricocheted off the railing. Loki threw up an energy shield to keep any of the bouncing bullets from striking Rogers. Supersoldier he may be, a bullet would still inconvenience him.

 

The gunfire halted and Loki stepped back, leaning over the railing to get a better look, vaguely aware of Rogers doing the same beside him, the fool. Loki caught a glimpse of black body armor and a helmet before he saw the barrel of a gun appear over the stair railing two floors up.

 

“Stay here,” Loki ordered, and teleported to the location of the assailant.

 

There were, in face,  _ two _ assailants, both wearing sleek black armor of a kind Loki had never seen before. One was armed with a standard projectile rifle. The other…

 

The yellow-green blast caught Loki in the chest and sent him flying backwards into the concrete wall. He landed on his feet, winded, and winced. His already compromised rib cage screamed with pain. He had, of course, forgotten to summon his armor. He rectified that with a thought, just as the second assailant leveled the strange-looking weapon at Loki again.

 

Loki lunged forward, grabbing the assault-rifle toting assailant by his chest plate and flinging him over the railing to fall the distance to the bottom. The second assailant fired again, but Loki dodged and struck out with his dagger, aiming for the man’s kidneys. His knife struck the armor… and skittered off, leaving a faint scratch on the shiny surface.

 

Loki didn’t allow his surprise to slow him down, dodging when the attacker tried to bludgeon him with his weapon. He summoned a glowing, green-white pinpoint of energy in his right hand, no larger than a small marble, and then thrust it into the attacker’s chest. There was a frantic sizzling noise, and then the human screamed, dropping his strange weapon and scrabbling at his chestplate, which now had a smoking hole in it. The man’s scream choked off, and then he dropped to the ground in a heap.

 

“What did you do to him?” Rogers demanded from behind Loki. Loki turned around to see Rogers holding the first assailant’s rifle.

 

“I burned his heart out,” Loki replied casually, and bent to pick up the energy weapon. The moment his hands touched the gun, however, it felt as if the world tilted, and a presence, instantly recognizable, slithered into his mind. Loki recoiled as fast as he could, his back hitting the wall, and stared in horror at the weapon.

 

“What is it?” Rogers demanded, stepping forward. “Loki? What’s wrong.”

 

It took Loki a moment to remember to start breathing again, and another to push the memory of the Other out of his brain. “That weapon,” he said shakily. “It is powered by the Mind Stone.”

 

Rogers sighed. “I was afraid of something like that. Hydra figured out a way to use the Tesseract to power weapons during the War, too.”

 

Loki turned to look at Rogers. “Well,  _ clearly _ they have managed to replicate the process,” he said acerbically. “Also their armor is advanced. It turned away my dagger.”

 

“Most body armor is designed to fend off knives,” Rogers said, wrinkling his nose at the smell of charred flesh as he crouched beside the corpse to examine the armor.

 

“My dagger is made of Asgardian metal,” Loki retorted. “There is little on this planet it cannot cut through.”

 

Rogers poked the corpse’s chestplate experimentally. “Huh. Well, that  _ is _ something, then.”

 

Loki took a deep breath and looked down at the human. “How did you come by that weapon?” he demanded.

 

Rogers stood. “I caught the guy you sent down the stairwell.”

 

Loki raised his eyebrows. “And where is he now?”

 

“Cuffed to the railing,” Roger replied with a shrug.

 

“You were not carrying manacles,” Loki pointed out.

 

“I, uh, used the railing to… cuff him to the railing,” Rogers muttered.

 

Loki nodded slowly and retrieved his cell phone from his pocket dimension. “Cell phones are down,” Rogers told him as he turned it one and hit the speed dial for Darcy. “They’re jamming the cell signal or something.”

 

_ “Yeah?” _ Darcy’s voice came over speaker phone. Rogers expression registered surprise.

 

“The Captain and I came across two intruders,” Loki told her. “They were wearing advanced body armor and one of them was carrying a weapon powered by the Mind Stone.”

 

_ “Shit,” _ Darcy muttered.  _ “We just got down to 88 and let Stark, Natasha, and Hill out. We haven’t seen anything. Stark wants to head up to the server room to get Jarvis squared away.” _

 

“No, not yet,” Rogers said, leaning over. “We need to clear it first. Tell Clint, Sam, Natasha, and Maria to start clearing the rest of the building. Once we’re sure the server room is secure you can send Stark up.”

 

_ “We’ve got security heading this way to help out,”  _ Stark’s voice replied.  _ “And I’m a little miffed that you think I can’t handle a few rent-a-thugs with high tech toys.” _

 

“Do you have your suit?” Rogers challenged.

 

_ “Hey, I can do things without my suit, I’ll have you know,” _ Stark retorted.

 

“Stay where you are, Tony,” Rogers said warningly.

 

_ “Whatever. Hurry up.” _ Stark snapped.

 

_ “I’ll keep an eye on him,” _ Darcy replied.  _ “Watch your back. Both of you.” _

 

“We will,” Loki told her, and disconnected the call. He made the phone vanish.

 

“How are your phones still working?” Rogers demanded as they started back up the stairs.

 

“I modified them some time ago,” Loki said off-handedly.

 

“Oh. Right,” Steve said.

 

When they reached the level the server room was on, Loki motioned to Rogers to hold back and he pressed his hands to the door, stretching his senses out into the corridor beyond.

 

“So you can really sense things, from a distance?” Rogers asked in a low voice.

 

“Yes, if I can  _ concentrate _ ,” Loki replied tightly. Rogers fell silent. Loki focused a moment more and then stepped back. “There are two more intruders in the corridor. The walls are reinforced with metal so my senses are blocked further than that.”

 

“That’s good enough,” Rogers replied. He raised the rifle to his shoulder. “I’ll cover you.”

 

Loki rolled his eyes. Typical human bravada. He gathered a glowing orb of green energy in his right palm and blasted the doorway twenty feet down the hall, taking both intruders off their feet. Without waiting for Rogers to react, Loki bolted down the corridor to the first intruder, who was still down on the ground. Loki kicked him in the head, shattering his helmet in one blow.

 

The second intruder rolled over onto his back, raised his weapon, and fired. The yellow-green blast sizzled past Loki’s shoulder as he ducked. He bounded forward, leaning down to find the gap between armor and helmet to slip his blade into when three more armored soldiers rounded the corner at the end of the corridor.

 

“Loki!” Rogers yelled from behind him. Loki glanced over his shoulder. Rogers stood with his back to Loki, facing another three intruders closing in from the other side. Loki grunted in frustration and threw up an energy shield to block the three on his side while Rogers opened fire on the other three. The intruders faltered, but didn’t go down.

 

“ _ Shit _ ,” Rogers spat.

 

The intruders on Loki’s side opened fire on Loki’s shield with their Infinity Stone-powered weapons, and the sudden drain on his powers caused Loki to stumble. He’d had a great deal of practice with the shield since he’d first used it in Russia in 1947, but it was still an incredibly difficult spell to hold in place. But he had to, or else they would be outflanked.

 

The other three intruders advanced, but did not fire. Instead, they kept their weapons holstered and drew expandable batons from their belts. Why they thought simple batons would be enough to bring him and Rogers down, Loki had no idea.

 

Rogers did not wait for the attackers to close the distance. Instead, he bounded forward, using the otherwise useless assault rifle as a bludgeon to slam the first one against the wall. The other two closed in, stabbing their batons into Roger’s ribs. Rogers convulsed and grimaced, and there was a faint smell of ozone, and Loki realized that the batons were electrified.

 

Rogers managed to tear himself away and swept the legs out from one of the attackers, stomping down on his chest hard enough to break bones. The remaining intruder had his head smashed against the wall, leaving a dent in the metal reinforcement.

 

The constant barrage of energy weapons against his shield reached Loki’s breaking point and he was forced to drop it. Before he could come up with a counterattack, Rogers snatched up one of the fallen intruders’ energy weapons, spun around, and opened fire, the blasts passing inches by Loki. The remaining three intruders went down under Roger’s blistering fire.

 

Once the corridor was quiet again, Rogers looked down at the weapon in his hand with disgust, but did not toss it aside. He looked back up at Loki. “We’d better get to the server room.”

 

To call the server room a “room” was actually a misnomer. It took up half the floor it was located on, and was a dimly-lit, icy maze of stacks of computer equipment with miles and miles of cables organized into thick clusters like cybernetic nerve bundles. Other than the hum of machinery, it was eerily quiet.

 

Rogers let Loki take the lead as they paced through the rows of servers. Loki sent mental feelers out in all directions, and quickly located his target. He stopped and turned to Rogers. “It would be unwise to open fire here,” he said in a whisper. “There is too great a risk of damaging something vital.”

 

Rogers nodded. “What’s your play?”

 

“There are two enemy soldiers over there,” Loki pointed. “I will eliminate them. Remain here in case they receive reinforcements.”

 

“Are you sure?” Rogers demanded.

 

Loki scoffed. “Captain, I have served as a warrior and an assassin since I was old enough to hold a weapon. Leave this to me.”

 

Rogers nodded dubiously and Loki quickly veiled himself, ignoring the ache in his bones from drawing too deep on his powers. He really was going to have to perfect the energy output required for the shield. He slipped away through the stacks, his dagger in his left hand.

 

He came upon the two intruders near the center of the chamber, both of them fully armored. They were guarding a server stack in particular, which had a device attached to it that looked like a cybernetic combination of a squid and a spider. No doubt it was what Hydra had used to disable Jarvis and send the building into lockdown.

 

Neither of the intruders noticed Loki as he crept up behind the nearest one. There was a small gap between the neckpiece of the human’s body armor and the bottom of the helmet, just enough space for Loki to jab his dagger upwards through soft palate into brain matter. The human likely did not even feel pain before he died. He certainly did not make a sound. Instead, he released a breath almost like a sigh and slipped to the ground. The second intruder spun around, raising his weapon, but he was too late. Loki was already moving.

 

The faceplate of the helmet, due to its transparent nature, was not as resistant as the body armor, and the second intruder died with Loki’s knife and shards of his own helmet in his eye. Loki yanked his knife free, let the body collapse to the floor, and called out, “Captain!”

 

Rogers jogged over a moment later, took in the two corpses with a passing glance, and focused on the device affixed to the server. “You should call Darcy,” he told Loki. “Get Tony up here.”

 

Loki nodded and summoned his cellphone. He hit the speed dial for Darcy and held it to his ear. It rang, and rang, and continued to ring. Loki frowned, a knot forming at the pit of his stomach. “She is not answering,” he told Rogers, and lowered the phone. “Remain here. I will go see what is the matter.”

 

“Be careful,” Rogers said, almost automatically, and then grimaced. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

 

Loki pressed his lips together. “Stay alert,” he replied, and reached out along his bond with Darcy, that sense of her that never went away. He located her within a moment, and transported himself directly to her side.

 

XxxXxxX

 

Darcy hung up the phone and shoved it into her pocket and looked around the circle of Avengers clustered around her. Stark looked the most annoyed. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the others. “We’ll split security up in teams for each of you,” he announced. “Two teams per floor, heading down.”

 

“I do not require reinforcements,” Thor rumbled, hefting his hammer in one hand.

 

“More people can cover more ground faster,” Darcy told him. “Take the team.”

 

Thor frowned. “Very well.”

 

Once the security force arrived, they all divided up and headed off, except for Darcy and Stark, who stayed where they were with two security officers and a man in a suit that Stark had called “Happy.” Happy was carrying a briefcase that, ironically enough, Stark was very happy to see.

 

“You’re the best, Hap,” Stark said with glee as Happy opened the briefcase and turned it around for Stark. Inside were various gadgets seated in black foam that Stark snatched up. One was a metal glove with a repulsor in the palm, another was a band that went around Stark’s forehead with a small glass screen over one eye, and the third was what appeared to be a standard issue pistol except with tiny LEDs on the barrel.

 

“Just doing my job, sir,” the man called Happy replied. He closed the briefcase and set it aside. “Miss Potts wanted me down here as soon as I got her to the safe room.”

 

“Wouldn’t want you anywhere else, pal,” Stark replied, settling the band into place and tapping the side of it. The glass screen lit up with scrolling data. “And we’re online. Jarvis, buddy, you read me?” Darcy did not hear a reply, but Stark grinned. “Good to have you back, J. Let’s get to work.” He started walking, and Darcy lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

 

“Where are you going?” she demanded.

 

“Server room,” Stark said dismissively, shaking her off. “Gotta get the security system up and running again.”

 

“We have to let Steve and Loki clear it first,” Darcy reminded him.

 

“It’ll be fine,” Stark said, waving the gloved hand. “We’ll meet them there. C’mon, Lewis. You scared?”

 

Darcy scowled at him. “ _ No _ ,” she spat, feeling very Middle School. She summoned her staves to her hands and spun them around in her fingers.

 

“You probably shouldn’t bring sticks to a gunfight,” Stark told her with a smirk. “Happy! You got an extra piece for the lady?”

 

Happy looked at her dubiously. “Do you know how to use a gun, miss?” he asked.

 

“I don’t like guns,” Darcy replied tightly. “I’ll be fine. I can stop time, remember?”

 

“Right. Norn powers. Got it.” Stark waved at the other two security officers. “All right, people. Let’s get a move on.” He started walking again, this time towards the stairs. “Mental note, Jarvis. We need to put the elevators on a separate backup system in case of lock down.” There was a beat of silence, and then he continued. “Hmm. You’re right. Didn’t think of that.”

 

Darcy scowled at his back and followed him into the stairwell, Happy and the security guards behind her. She could have very well ordered everyone to stay put using the norn voice, but she didn’t like using that on people she actually liked, and she needed to work with Stark in the future. Bending his will was not a good way to ensure good work environment.

 

Happy began to huff and puff after the fifth floor, but to his credit, he didn’t drop behind. Stark was in pretty good shape considering he was creeping dangerously close to fifty, and he kept up a brisk pace. Darcy was used to keeping up with her 6’3’’ husband and his long legs and longer stride, so had no problem staying right behind Stark.

 

They were on floor 94 when all hell broke loose. Darcy wasn’t sure how she missed it. Maybe she was more focused on how annoyed she was at Stark for disobeying Steve’s orders. But one minute they were jogging up the stairs, and the next the stairwell was full of yellow-green bolts of energy and bullets.

 

Darcy pressed herself against the wall, out of the way of the worst of it. Happy and the two security officers hunched down, trying to get clear shots of the attackers. Stark, the idiot, charged right up the stairs toward them.

 

“Mother _ fucker _ ,” Darcy spat, and sprinted after Stark, fully intending to tackle him if she had to to get him out of the line of fire. By the time she’d caught up with him, he’d already blasted one assailant off his feet with the repulsor glove and was firing his weird LED gun at the next one. The pistol made an odd zapping sound and instead of bullets, fired a blue ball of light that knocked the second assailant to the ground.

 

The first one was trying to get back to his feet when Darcy reached him, and she brought one of her staves down on his helmet with all her strength. “ _ Stay down _ ,” she snarled at him in her norn voice, and he dropped to the ground again.

 

Stark was so focused on the intruders in front of him that he failed to notice the one standing on the landing across the stairwell, aiming his odd-looking rifle straight at Stark. Darcy took a deep breath and held it, and time went still.

 

Darcy had had the last two years to focus on honing her skills, in between parenting her eight children, and time manipulation came almost naturally to her. It was really amazing what you could do when you could stop time.

 

With the familiar ringing in her ears, Darcy jumped up onto the railing and launched herself across open space towards the other side of the stairwell, a feat she could never have done in real time. Stopping time meant that air molecules didn’t move, which allowed Darcy to perform feats she never could otherwise. Unfortunately, she could only stop time as long as she could hold her breath.

 

She landed on the opposite railing with one foot and jumped down to the landing, releasing her breath just as she spun around and slammed both staves into the attacker’s back, knocking him forward off-balance. The black-clad assailant quickly recovered and whirled toward her , using his gun as a melee weapon to knock her down. Darcy ducked under the wild blow and struck at the man’s inside knee and thigh, both places that were light on armor.

 

The attacker dropped to one knee and Darcy rose, slamming her own knee into his chest and knocking him backwards. She aimed a kick at his helmet for good measure, and stomped down on the wrist holding the gun. He released it involuntarily, and Darcy kicked it away.  _ Damn _ , it was heavier than it looked.

 

The attacker grabbed Darcy’s ankle and yanked, trying to knock her off balance, but Darcy skipped forward, shifted her weight, and stomped down on the man’s bicep before kicking his helmet again. She reached down and yanked it off before striking down with her stave with all her strength, finally knocking him unconscious.

 

Her phone started vibrating in her pocket, but she ignored it as she looked around, just in time to see a bolt of energy sizzling towards her. She threw herself out of the way, landed awkward, and struggled to get up. One of the intruders was beside her, holding what looked like a collapsible baton in one hand. The man swung it down at Darcy and she got her stave up in time to block it, but he kicked her in the ribs, forcing her to curl up in defense. The baton came down again, and when it made contact with her back, all her muscles convulsed as electricity arched through her body, whiting out her vision.

 

Then the electricity was gone and Darcy’s vision cleared. She saw the attacker standing over her, blood dripping from the bottom of his helmet. Then he was physically thrown out of the way and over the railing, and Loki was kneeling beside her, supporting her head in one hand.

 

“ _ Darcy _ ,” he said frantically. “Are you hurt?”

 

Darcy waved at him weakly. “‘Mgood,” she mumbled. “Help Stark.”

 

Loki grimaced and lowered her head back to the ground. He was gone a second later, and the barrage of bullets and energy blasts turned into shrieks of pain and surprise, and then silenced. Darcy remained where she was, staring up at the ceiling, focusing on her breathing.

 

Loki appeared over her again, his bloody dagger still in his left hand. He ran his right hand over her, palm down, from forehead to stomach, checking her for injuries. Darcy struggled to sit up. “I told you, I’m good.”

 

“It would appear so,” Loki said unhappily.

 

Darcy looked around. The stairwell was empty except for them and the fallen attacker, either dead or unconscious. “Where’s Stark?”

 

“I sent him up to meet Rogers in the server room,” Loki told her. “We discovered how Hydra was able to bypass security.”

 

Darcy nodded. “Awesome.” She began to laboriously get to her feet, but Loki stopped her.

 

“What do you think you are doing?” he demanded.

 

“Thor and the others might need our help,” Darcy told him, trying to break free of his grip.

 

“Absolutely not,” Loki said firmly. The world blinked out from around them, and Darcy found herself on the couch of their new guest suite.

 

“Shit,” she said.

 

“Darcy?” Jane demanded, and came running into the living room, Fenris on her heels. Fenris jumped onto the couch and began enthusiastically licking Darcy’s face, forgetting decorum in his excitement. Darcy fended him off but scratched roughly at the thick ruff of fur around his neck.

 

“I’m okay,” she told both of them.

 

“What’s going on?” Jane asked, flinging herself down on the couch next to Darcy.

 

“Hydra attacked the building, but it’s under control now,” Darcy assured her.

 

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Is that why Loki sent you back?” Jane frowned as she visually examined Darcy, probably looking for blood or obvious broken bones.

 

“I’m fine,” Darcy said, annoyed. “I got a tad electrocuted. Nothing major. I’m okay.”

 

“Are you sure?” Jane pressed.

  
Darcy reached out and took Jane’s hand. “Relax, Janey. Everything’s good.”


	8. Taking Down Names In My Book Of Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! My gift to you is a new chapter, at long last! Sorry it's taken so long to update, but now that Christmas is (almost) over my updating schedule should pick up again. Happy Holidays everyone!

Darcy didn’t want to complain, but the quinjet was actually kinda crowded. Natasha and Clint were in the cockpit, of course, but the transport section had two Norse gods, a supersoldier, two guys in high-tech flight suits, the mild-mannered half of a giant green juggernaut, a norn, and a hyper-intelligent alien wolf.

Thor and Steve weren’t strapped in. They stood at the door to the cockpit, talking in low voices. Stark wasn’t strapped in, either. He was already suited up, pacing back and forth in front of the closed ramp. Sam was seated across from Darcy, calmly reading from his Stark pad.

Darcy’s knee bounced up and down as if it had a mind of its own, and every time the quinjet shifted, she jumped. Loki gave her a sidelong look.

“You are more uncomfortable than I am,” he said in the First Tongue.

“I do not purposefully walk into battle enough times to make it normal,” she retorted. “And now we’re going up against Hydra with an Infinity Stone. That is exactly what my nightmares are made of.”

“Hey, you two,” Stark called out, turning to glare at them. “Secrets don’t make friends. You wanna share with the rest of the class?”

“No,” Darcy and Loki said at the same time.

Stark made a face and stomped over, stopping just in front of Darcy. “Since when do you have a suit, anyway? Was that a wedding gift? Marry the prince and you get a suit of armor?”

“I made it for her,” Loki responded blandly. “To protect the mother of my children.”

Stark made another face. “The idea that you procreated still weirds me out.”

“Tony,” Steve said disapprovingly, glaring at Stark.

“What?” Stark demanded. “You’re telling me that the idea of little baby Lokis doesn’t concern you the slightest?”

“Have a care how you speak,” Thor rumbled warningly. “Their child is the heir to the throne of Asgard.”

“Which is even scarier,” Stark added.

“Stark!” Clint yelled from the pilot’s chair, twisting to look back at them. “Stop moving around. You’re throwing off our center of gravity.”

“Whatever,” Stark muttered, but shuffled back over to the giant red X taped onto the deck of the quinjet.

Darcy looked down at her suit of armor. It was her first opportunity to wear it. Loki had spent eight months crafting it from leather, metal, and some kind of super-reinforced fabric. It was made in dark purple, bronze, and white, and had the World Tree and horned moon emblem of the Mother of the Ways inscribed on the moulded chestplate. It was, in her opinion, a thing of beauty.

She looked up at Loki, who was glaring at Stark with unconcealed ire. Darcy reached over and poked him in the thigh. “Hey.”

Loki turned to look at her. “Whatever insults he may throw at me, fine, I am more than capable of defending myself,” he said stiffly in the First Tongue. “But I will not tolerate such speech about my son.”

“Stark is an ass,” Darcy told him. “But he’s not a bad person.”

“That does not give him the right to speak ill of a child,” Loki replied flatly.

“Again with the weird language,” Stark said loudly. “What even are you speaking?”

“Ancient Norse,” Darcy quipped in English. “What, didn’t you study that in high school, too?”

“Funny,” Stark retorted.

“Can you guys just give it a rest, please?” Dr Banner said, speaking for the first time since they got in the air. Unlike the rest of them, he was not wearing anything remotely like a suit. He was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved gray shirt. He was even wearing a pair of slip-on shoes. If he was forced to enter the field, a suit was the last thing he was going to be worrying about.

Everyone stopped and looked at Banner, who was not looking nervous so much as desperately uncomfortable. It was obvious that this was the last place he wanted to be. Fenris, who was lying on the deck by Darcy’s feet, heaved himself upright and padded over to Banner, thrusting his head into Banner’s lap. He had a close-fitting armored vest in silver and black, but his head was unadorned.

Banner stared for a moment in surprise down at Fenris, and then he hesitantly placed his hand on the back of Fenris’ skull and began to scratch the thick fur there. Fenris heaved a canine sigh of contentment and thumped his tail against the deck.

“Kid makes a damn good therapy dog,” Sam observed dryly. Fenris flicked an ear in Sam’s direction but remained still under Banner’s ministrations.

Thor braced a hand against the bulkhead and leaned into the cockpit. “How much further?” he demanded.

“Another ten minutes, tops,” Natasha replied.

“Have we heard back from the German government?” Steve asked. “I hate to do all this last minute, but we didn’t have a lot of time.”

“Looks like we just got a response from the UN,” Clint said, tapping a digital display. “Germany’s giving us a go-ahead but wants us to keep a low profile and damage to a minimum.”

Thor frowned. “It is not as if we seek to cause damage,” he rumbled.

“No, but the Black Forest is a staple of German history,” Steve explained. “It generates a lot of income for Baden-Württemburg.”

“Say that three times fast,” Stark quipped.

Darcy wrinkled her nose. “My brother lives there,” she told Loki. He looked at her in surprise.

“Cooper?” he asked.

Darcy nodded. “He lives in Baden-Württemburg. In Stuttgart.”

Loki made a face that Darcy couldn’t identify. “How far is that from the Black Forest?”

“About an hour and a half,” Darcy said.

Loki reached over and put his hand on her thigh. “He will be safe.”

Darcy nodded again but didn’t say anything.

“Head’s up!” Clint called. “We’re starting the descent.”

“Descent” was more like “controlled free fall” and Darcy was pretty sure she left her stomach somewhere at 30,000 feet by the time the quinjet touched down. Stark was the first off, his faceplate sliding down into place. Steve was right behind him, Thor on his heels.

Darcy fumbled with her safety harness, trying to undo the latch, and Clint stopped in front of her, his bow in one hand. “You ready for this, kid?” he asked softly.

Darcy finally got the harness off and stood up. “You can’t call me ‘kid’,” she told him. “I’m older than the human race.”

He gave her a lopsided grin and tugged at the braid hanging over her shoulder. “Still a kid to me.”

The LZ was two miles from the hidden base Stark’s satellites had found using Loki and Jane’s algorithm. Loki, Clint, and Natasha were on recon while the rest of them took up their positions. For Dr Banner and Darcy, however, this was as far as they went.

Bruce helped Darcy set up their temporary command center. There were five over-sized tablets with video feeds from the satellites and from the Avengers’ body cams. Darcy had a com in her ear the same as everyone else so she could monitor chatter.

Once the screens were set up in the back of the quinjet, Bruce took up his spot at Darcy’s shoulder, waiting for the call for a Code Green. Fenris loped out of the jet to examine the immediate area under the strict instruction not to go out of audible range.

For a little while nothing happened, the body cams only showing trees and undergrowth. Darcy kept an eye on the satellite images, monitoring it for any indication they knew the Avengers were coming.

“Cap,” Darcy said just as Loki’s cam showed he’d arrived at the base.

“Yeah?”Steve asked.

“Satellite readings show the Scepter is probably not here,” Darcy replied. “But I’m picking up two thermal images that have EMFs matching the Mind Stone signature.”

“Got it,” Steve said. “Be on the lookout for two powered people.”

“I am in position,” Loki reported. “I am veiling now.”

“I got your cover,” Clint said.

Darcy checked Clint’s cam. Apparently he’d managed to scale one of the giant trees and now had a clear view of the entire base. A green chevron indicated Loki’s position even though he was invisible to the camera, as the Stark satellite was picking up the biometric tracker around his wrist (Loki had flatly refused to have the subdermal one, like the rest of the Avengers. Except Thor, who kept shorting his out.)

“I’m on the north side,” Natasha said a moment later. “Looks like they have minimal anti-aircraft weaponry.”

“That’s good to know,” Sam said dryly. “Let me know when we’re good to go airborne.”

“And hop to it,” Stark interjected. “I’m bored already.”

Darcy glanced at her screens and paused. “Thor, turn back around,” she ordered. Thor’s body cam (which had to be double shielded from Thor’s overactive personal EMF) blurred for a moment and then refocused on the object she had seen.

“Thor, is that a weapons installation?” Darcy asked, leaning forward.

“I believe so,” Thor rumbled. “It is sealed closed but I believe I could take it quickly.”

“Hold off on that,” Steve said.

There was a sudden high-pitched squealing over the coms and everyone flinched.

“The hell was that?” Stark demanded.

“We may have a problem,” Loki said, sounding breathless.

“Uh, guys, the base just went on high alert,” Clint said grimly.

“Loki, are you okay?” Darcy asked. Loki’s body cam was shaky, occasionally showing flashes of red.

“Yes, but one of the powered individuals can see through my veils,” he replied tightly. “One moment.”

Darcy turned to look at the satellite image of the base. It was now crawling with Hydra soldiers. There was a sudden explosion of green energy in the courtyard inside the walls.

“Shit!” Clint yelped.

“Falcon, Iron Man, get in there!” Steve yelled.

“On the way,” Sam barked back.

“Loki!” Darcy called into the coms. “Loki, report!”

“Fine,” he bit out. “Busy at the moment.”

Loki’s cam shook too hard to give a good image, but suddenly it stabilized, showing a young, dark-haired woman stalking towards him, red energy glowing around her hands. She said something Darcy couldn’t hear, and then Loki replied, “Oh, child, I am just getting started.” Then the screen flashed green and cut out.

Darcy told herself not to panic. They hadn’t had the chance to test the equipment to see how Loki’s magic interacted with it. They knew his energy would most likely blow out the human-made technology, the way that Thor’s did.

Bruce squeezed her shoulder. “They’ll be okay,” he told her in a soft voice.

“Yeah,” Darcy whispered.

XxxXxxX

The human girl was _much_ more skilled than Loki had anticipated. It would have, in any other circumstances, be fascinating how she manipulated the energies she gathered around her. She had a great deal of raw power, but she lacked a certain finesse.

Which didn’t keep her from slamming Loki off his feet with a Jeep. He hit the ground, rolled, and gained his feet before his momentum spent itself, skidding backwards in a crouch. The girl bared her teeth and advanced, ignoring the Hydra soldiers exiting the base to spread out into the trees. A few circled the two magic-users, leveling weapons but hesitating, most likely waiting to see how the duel would turn out.

The girl was talented, but Loki was much, much older than her. He flung a handful of energy darts at her and she predictably raised a shield to block them. When she did, Loki stamped his left foot against the concrete. A second later, a geyser of green light broke through the cement directly behind the girl, knocking her forward onto her knees. Loki flicked his right hand out, and a green rope unfurled from his palm, whipping out to coil around one of the girl’s arms. Loki dropped his end of the rope and it fastened to the ground at his feet.

The girl tugged at the binding for a second before slicing through it with a spark of red energy held between her thumb and forefinger. But it had served its purpose, and Loki was right on her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her up off her feet. He threw up an energy shield around them, knowing it would be the only spell he could hold until he dropped it.

The girl struggled, growling and spitting at him, but before she could retaliate with magic, Loki reached within himself and drew deep from the cold core of power he did his best to ignore. The edges of his vision went scarlet and he could see the fingers of the hand around her throat turn blue.

But he focused the cold away from himself and into her. She went pale first, and then her breath condensed as she gasped, clawing at his hand. Her lips tinged blue and frost gathered in her dark hair.

Loki stumbled when several Mind Stone-powered blasts impacted his shield. He dropped the girl to the ground. It would be awhile before she could work magic again. He whirled on the Hydra soldiers now advancing on him.

He dropped the shield and swept his hand across in front of him, and as he did a line of green flame burst into life inches from the closest Hydra soldier, who stumbled backwards in surprise. Loki summoned a talisman from his pocket dimension. The next spell was tricky and not one of his natural abilities, so he needed the talisman as a focus.

When he was learning this spell, Thor and his friends teased him relentlessly, claiming the working appeared more like dancing than magic. The first time he’d been successful, though, Loki had made them choke on their laughter.

Loki flicked open the feathered fan and swept it in a wide gesture, lifting it over his head as he spun on the toe of one boot, bringing the fan down again and flicking it side to side. As he moved and spun and maneuvered the fan, a wind picked up around him, gaining speed and momentum in seconds until a miniature tornado spun in place, with him at the center. With another flick of the fan, the whirlwind moved forward, sucking up the green flames until it became a cyclone made from fire, controlled by the motions of Loki’s fan.

The firewind consumed one of the soldiers before the other had the chance to react. When it spat him out, he was nothing more than a pile of charred bones and melted metal. The others cut and ran. Loki stalked forward, maintaining the firewind, flicking it forward and leaving a burn mark on the cement in its wake.

Something hit Loki from behind, too quick for him to detect it. He was thrown forward, hitting the ground and rolling. He regained his feet easily, but it was too late. The firewind dissipated with a downdraft of super-heated air. He scanned the courtyard but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

There was a blur in the corner of his eyes and he flung himself forward, somersaulting and coming back to his feet. A young man skidded to a halt a few yards away. He was wearing silver and blue garments, all of them skin-tight, and his hair was light gray despite his age. His face was screwed up in a mask of rage.

Loki squared off against the boy, but the mortal braced to run, and then _vanished_ , blurring forwards too quickly for Loki to see.

 _Ah_ , Loki thought. _Here’s the other one_. He flung himself out of the way again, but this was not sustainable. He could not defend against an enemy he couldn’t see. In this case, perhaps discretion was the better part of valor. No longer able to see the boy, Loki held the image of the forest outside in his mind, and transported himself out of the base.

When he landed in the trees, he looked up to see Stark and Wilson swoop by overhead. Loki reached up and removed the com from his ear. It was dead and useless. With a faint sigh, Loki dropped it onto the ground. He examined the biometric tracker next. The silicone band holding the tracker was melted and burned. Loki stripped that off, as well. At least his bond with Darcy was still strong. She would have no cause to think him harmed, or worse.

He could hear the rumble of vehicles not far away, and started that direction, breaking into a jog.

It did not take him long to reach the line of vehicles snaking into the forest. He stood for a moment, watching them approach his cover. Then he deliberately stepped into their path. Seven trucks filled with humans armed with the Mind Stone weapons. Shouldn't be difficult at all.

Thor dropped out of the sky and landed next to Loki with a spray of dirt and rotted leaves. He grinned at Loki, hefting Mjolnir in one hand. “Like old times, brother?” Thor asked.

Loki grinned back fiercely, magic glowing between his fingers. “Of course,” he replied.

XxxXxxX

Darcy’s bond with Loki was strong and hummed between them, so she wasn’t _that_ worried about him. She would have like to be able to hear him in her ear, but she could sense his emotions and knew he was fine. Still, she was going to have Stark make magic-proof coms for Loki as soon as they got back to the Tower.

She was busy keeping track of the rest of the Avengers, even though Stark and Sam’s body cams swooped and spun dizzyingly.

“I am with Loki,” Thor announced, and then Darcy heard him ask, “Like old times, brother?”

Darcy turned to look at Thor’s body cam, which showed a glimpse of Loki standing near Thor before turning to face the line of armored trucks driving through the trees.

“Cap, you’ve got a whole lotta guys heading your way,” Sam reported. “Coming in from the north.”

“I’m on the way,” Natasha said promptly.

“ _Shit_ ,” Clint muttered. “Darce, there’s about seven guys en route to your location. They’re already out of range.”

“We got it, don’t worry,” Darcy assured him. She looked up at Bruce. “You want a gun, or you going green?”

Bruce shook his head. “Seven guys aren’t enough to warrant going green. But I’m a crappy shot.”

“No sweat,” Darcy told him, choosing an ICER rifle from the rack. “Point and shoot. Nothing to it.”

Bruce took the rifle warily, tucking it against his shoulder and keeping pace with her as she descended the ramp. Darcy looked around, and then put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. It only took a couple of seconds for Fenris to come running.

“All right, Fen,” Darcy told her step-son. “This is it. No unnecessary risks, got it?”

Fenris’ green eyes sparkled and he bared his fangs excitedly. Darcy checked the tablet in her hand. “Okay. They’re about fifty yards west of here. Dr B, you stay here and cover the quinjet. Fenris and I are going to flank ‘em.”

“Are you sure?” Bruce asked, frowning at her.

Darcy summoned her dagger from her pocket dimension and spun it around her fingers before holding it in a reverse grip. “Yesh. No sweat. Fen, on me.”

Darcy jogged into the trees, Fenris keeping pace alongside her. She knew she was being overconfident. Seven highly-trained Hydra agents would be a stretch for her even without the Mind-Stone-powered weapons They needed to come up with a name for those, she thought to herself as she ran.

When her norn-senses told her she was getting close, she slowed to a walk and crouched down, using the copious undergrowth to cover her progress. She came across the first Hydra soldier after only a few minutes. They’d spread out between the trees, far enough that they could no longer see each other. First mistake.

Darcy waited until the soldier had passed her. Then she stepped out behind him and thrust her dagger into the side of his neck, aiming for the gap between armor and helmet. She missed, her blade skittering off the reinforced armor.

The soldier whirled around, slamming his rifle into Darcy’s shoulder and knocking her off her feet. Before she hit the ground, though, Fenris lunged from the undergrowth and latched onto the man’s right arm, dragging him down to the ground. The Hydra soldier yanked a knife free from his belt and stabbed at Fenris, but the armor around Fenris’ chest and stomach held fast, turning the blade away.

Darcy regained her feet and kicked the soldier’s helmet off before dropping to one knee, slamming her dagger into the hollow of his throat. Blood spurted around the blade and the soldier coughed, blood spilling from his lips.

Darcy yanked her dagger free and staggered to her feet, feeling sick and pale for a moment. There was blood on her right hand, and she scrubbed to off onto her tunic, knowing it would wash out later. She looked down at Fenris, who was nosing the dead soldier.

“Good job,” Darcy told him softly. She swallowed her nausea and called forth a bit more of the norn, suppressing her emotions. “Let’s go get the others.”

They circled around to come up behind the remaining six Hydra soldiers, but before Darcy could engage the next one, there was a flicker of movement behind her, and she was flung off her feet into a tree, impacting painfully before she fell to the ground. She lay for a moment, wheezing, trying to figure out what had just happened, while Fenris whined and pawed at her arm.

She pushed herself back to her feet, holding her bruised ribs, and looked around. There was no one close by, not even the Hydra soldiers. Darcy took a deep breath and dropped herself into a norn-trance.

She could see the six Hydra soldiers approaching the quinjet, and Bruce waiting for them. She spared a moment to curse her impetuousness. She never should have left him alone. But then she realized there was another presence in the trees, this one darting back and forth too fast for her to get a solid read on.

One of the Stone-powered people, Darcy realized. He was fast, huh? Well, two could play that game. Darcy returned to her body just in time to keep herself from falling over and looked around until she found a branch of decent size.

She had half a heartbeat’s warning before the speedster made a second pass by her, and Darcy didn’t even have a chance to take a breath before she stepped out of time.

It was a young man, probably around Darcy’s vessel’s age, wearing silver and blue with gray hair. He ran straight for Darcy, moving quickly despite Darcy’s slowing of time. Right before he reached her though, she stepped out of the way, swung the branch, and started time again.

The branch hit the young man square in the chest and exploded into a cloud of splinters. The man was knocked off his feet but his forward momentum was too great and he ended up tumbling head over heels until he came to a stop in a cloud of dirt and leaves.

Darcy ran over to where the Gifted man had landed. He was gasping for breath, holding his side and wincing. He looked up Darcy in confusion. “What are you?” he demanded in an accent Darcy couldn’t quite place.

“Faster than you, apparently,” Darcy replied, and nudged him with her foot. “You break anything?”

His wince turned to a scowl. “Why would you care?” he growled at her.

“Because I’m not a complete monster,” Darcy retorted. She eyes the man for a minute. He was not armed, or wearing any armor at all. Hydra had sent him out with nothing but his Gift. That told Darcy that Hydra didn’t really care if this man lived or died. He was probably a liability.

“Why are you working with Hydra?” Darcy asked, nudging him again with her boot. The man tried to get up but Fenris planted his front paws in the man’s chest and forced him down again.

“You wouldn’t understand,” the man spat.

Darcy shrugged and reached down to touch his forehead with two fingers. She braced herself for an influx of images, but she wasn’t prepared for the _pain_.

When her vision cleared, she was flat on her back, staring up at the treetops above her. Fenris was licking her cheek and whining. She remembered to start breathing again and groaned. “ _Fuck_ ,” she muttered, and rolled over onto her stomach so she could push herself upright. She looked around. The speedster was gone.

Darcy got to her feet and stood for a moment, wobbly, until the world stopped spinning. She lurched back towards the quinjet and froze when she heard a familiar bellow of anger just before a Hydra agent went sailing through the air over her head to smack into a tree behind her with a wet thump.

The ground shook under Darcy’s feet, and the Hulk burst out of the undergrowth to skid to a halt in front of Darcy. He shook leaves from his salt-and-pepper hair and snorted at Darcy, slamming his fists into the dirt.

“Hey, big guy,” Darcy said shakily. “Sorry for leaving you in the lurch. That was my fault.”

The Hulk narrowed his eyes at Darcy and shuffled forward another few steps. Fenris, to his credit, had not backed down at the sight of the Hulk, and now stepped in front of Darcy, hackles raised. The Hulk startled at his sudden movement, and then crouch down low to look Fenris in the eye, leaning forward and snuffling the air.

“It’s okay, Fen,” Darcy said soothingly. “That’s Dr B, remember? Nothing to be afraid of.”

The Hulk raised one giant hand and extended his forefinger until he could lightly tap Fenris’ head. The wolf crouched slightly as the Hulk’s hand descended, tail drooping in nervousness, but he let the Hulk stroke his head a few times before backing away and hiding behind Darcy.

“Good dog,” the Hulk rumbled, watching Fenris slink behind Darcy.

“Yeah,” Darcy agreed. “He’s a good dog. So, Mr Green, are all the Hydra agents taken care of?”

“Bad men,” the Hulk snorted. “All gone.”

Darcy nodded and reached out, patting the Hulk’s arm. “Thanks, buddy. Remind me later that I owe Banner a beer. Like, a lot of beers.” The Hulk snorted again and patted Darcy’s shoulder with one hand, nearly knocking her off her feet.

“Darcy,” Steve barked in Darcy’s ear. “You good?”

“We’re good,” Darcy reported. “Banner’s in green mode, though. You guys need him out there?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Natasha said, sounding casual.

Darcy looked up at the Hulk and pointed. “Bad men that way,” she told him. The Hulk slammed his fists into the ground again and bounded off, moving far quicker than something his size had the right to. Darcy turned to watch him go for a moment before heading back to the quinjet.

The Gifted man had thrown her into the tree hard enough to bruise, and she was going to feel like hell in the morning. In the meantime, she was going to stick to her job and just stay in the quinjet.

XxxXxxX

Loki stood between Rogers and his brother, watching the plume of smoke rise from the remains of the Hydra base. The fire had been put out quick enough to prevent it from spreading to the trees, but the base itself was a complete loss.

Rogers removed his helmet and rubbed his forearm across his face, wiping sweat from his skin. He looked weary but determined. “That… didn’t go horribly,” Rogers said, breaking the silence.

Loki snorted. “Neither of the two powered individuals were recovered,” he pointed out.

“We’ll find them,” Rogers said firmly. “They don’t have supplies, or vehicles. They won’t have gotten far.”

“With their abilities, I suspect it will be all but impossible to track them,” Loki replied.

“They will seek out their allies,” Thor said, hefting Mjolnir in his hand idly. “We should look for the nearest Hydra base.”

Rogers rubbed his face again. “Yeah,” he said, but he did not sound enthusiastic. “We’ll run the search from the satellites again, see what we come up with.”

Stark lowered himself carefully through the trees and landed with an earth-shaking thump on the other side of Rogers. His faceplate slid up and he looked around at them. He had a bruise around one eye and the bridge of his nose was cut.

“I’ve contacted local authorities,” he announced. “They’re on there way for clean up. We have any idea how many got away?”

Rogers tilted his head, one hand reaching up to the com in his ear. “You’re sure?” he asked. He nodded a few seconds later. “Okay. Thanks, Darce.” Rogers turned to Stark. “You’d better collect Banner,” he told the inventor. “We need him back to small size to fit in the quinjet.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m on it,” Stark muttered, and flipped his faceplate down again. He launched himself back into the air.

Thor clapped Loki on the shoulder hard enough to knock him off balance. “A good fight, eh, brother?” he asked, grinning.

Loki snorted and shrugged one shoulder. “It was adequate,” he said haughtily. Thor elbowed him in the ribs.

“Admit it, Loki. You enjoyed yourself,” Thor teased.

“It’s not about _enjoying_ it,” Rogers suddenly barked, glaring at Thor. “It’s our job. It’s not a game.”

Thor looked askance at Rogers. “I do not mean to make light of it,” he said apologetically. “But it has been some time since Loki and I fought side by side.”

Rogers nodded, his expression falling again. “Yeah, I get it. Sorry. I’m just…” He trailed off and turned abruptly, trudging through the trees back towards the quinjet. Thor and Loki both turned to watch him go.

“I forget, sometimes, that we come from different worlds,” Thor said softly.

Loki grimaced. “That is something they certainly will never let _me_ forget.” He took a deep breath and put his hand on Thor’s shoulder. “It _was_ good to fight at your side, again, brother. I am going to return to Darcy’s side now.”

Thor shrugged Loki’s hand off. “Go,” he said with an easy smile. “Tell our victory to your woman.”

Loki nodded to his brother and then transported himself directly to the quinjet. Darcy was standing in the middle of the hold, surrounded by her screens. Loki could immediately tell something was wrong. He could hear her breathing was labored and he smelled blood on her clothes.

“Darcy,” he said sharply, striding forward. She looked up, and her expression cleared.

“Hey,” she said softly. “You okay?”

“I am fine,” Loki replied dismissively, reaching her and taking her by the shoulders. “Where are you injured?”

Darcy shook her head. “Just a couple bumps and bruises,” she said lightly. “I had a slight disagreement with a tree.”

Loki raised his eyebrow. “With a tree?” he echoed skeptically.

She shrugged. “It’s no biggie. Hot bath and I’ll be good as new.”

Loki stared at her a beat. “You have blood on your tunic,” he pointed out.

Darcy looked down at the stain. “Oh. Yeah. I killed someone.”

Loki inhaled softly. “Are you well?” he asked gently.

She pressed her lips together, not looking him in the eye. “Is it bad that it’s getting easier? I only wanted to throw up a little.”

Loki pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. She circled her arms around his waist, clutching back just as tight as he held her. “It should never be easy for you,” he told her quietly. “Not for you.”

Darcy snuffled a little. “I messed up, Loki,” she mumbled. “I went after them like an idiot and I left Banner behind. He had to Hulk out to protect himself. I shouldn’t have left him behind.”

“Dr Banner is more than capable of taking care of himself,” Loki said firmly. “That is not on you.”

Darcy rubbed her cheek against his leather tunic. “I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she went on. “I thought I could just take seven guys by myself and I went off like a moron with just Fenris and I got blindsided. I shouldn’t have let that happen. I _know_ better than that.”

“Darcy, stop,” Loki instructed. “There is no point in self-flagellation. Just accept you made a mistake and move on. No one was harmed.” He lowered his hand to rest against her ribcage, checking her for injuries. “Much,” he amended when he detected at least two cracked ribs. “You will see a medic when we return, though.”

“Kay,” Darcy mumbled. “Hurts to breathe.” Loki sighed to himself. Darcy abruptly wriggled in his grasp, hissing in pain before Loki released her. She looked up at him. “I saw one of the Stone-powered people. It was a guy, and he was really fast.”

“Yes, I met him myself, as well,” Loki told her.

Darcy was thin-lipped and grim. “Well, I managed to read him. You’re gonna want to hear what I learned.”


	9. When The Sky Turns Gray And Everything Is Screaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I totally did not mean to go this long between posts. I am so, so, so sorry. I will try to do better about posting and see if I can get back to posting on the weekends. I need to be better about working on the story every day and not letting myself get distracted. I am staying up way to late at night watching TV. Shame on me.

“Their names are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff,” Darcy started. Clint and Natasha were in the cockpit of the quinjet again, but everyone else was watching her. Fenris sat in front of her, head in her lap, and Loki sat next to her, his hand in between her back and the back of the jumpseat so he could monitor her breathing.

“They’re twins,” she continued. “From Sokovia. Hydra approached them eighteen months ago, said they would give them the power they needed to stabilize their country. They had no idea what they were signing up for. The experiments were horrific. There were other test subjects, but the twins were the only ones to survive. Now Hydra told them they would bomb their hometown to rubble if they don’t do what Hydra wants them to.”

“Jesus,” Steve muttered, rubbing one hand down his face. “So basically they’re victims.”

Darcy nodded wordlessly. “They don’t have much love for us, either, though,” she added. “I picked up on some extremely negative feelings toward the Avengers, and America in general.”

“I’m Russian!” Natasha called from the co-pilot’s chair.

“Shut up, Tasha, you’ve been naturalized,” Clint retorted.

“Regardless,” Steve said, raising his voice slightly. “Our secondary goal needs to be getting them out of there.”

“Gonna be hard to do if they keep trying to kill us,” Stark pointed out. He was out of his armor, which was left standing on the red X in the hold.

“We could attempt to offer them a better option,” Loki replied dryly. “Oftentimes intelligent people do react well to reason.”

“If we could solve all our problems by  _ talking _ , then we wouldn’t be here,” Stark shot back.

“You know what,” Bruce said, looking up from where he was wrapped in a blanket in the corner. They’d brought a spare set of clothing for him, as they usually did, but post transformation left him achy, feverish, and irritable. “I’m pretty sure we’ve  _ all _ had enough of you two sniping at each other, so could you both kindly  _ cut it out _ ?” He glared between Stark and Loki until both men reluctantly nodded back. Then Bruce settled further into his corner, drawing his blanket tighter around him.

Fenris looked up at Darcy for permission, and then trotted across the hold to curl up beside Bruce, tail thumping lightly against the deck. Bruce stared down at the wolf for a couple of seconds before freeing one hand to stroke his ears.

No one else said anything during the trip to Stuttgart, where Stark had arranged for housing overnight. Darcy considered texting her brother, but she knew Cooper was in rehearsals, and probably didn’t need the distraction.

The place that Stark had managed to secure was a massive, 18th-century manor halfway up the valley wall, surrounded by vineyards. There was a helipad behind the manor, so they could land the quinjet right by the house. Stark had also had dinner catered, which had been promised to be ready by the time they arrived after cleaning up at the Hydra base.

As soon as they arrived, Loki insisted on tending to Darcy’s injuries. She tried to fend him off long enough to get something to eat, but he was implacable. So they found a bathroom on the ground floor so Darcy could remove her armor.

The Asgardian armor was insanely complicated, and came off in numerous pieces. Loki had to help her strip down to her pants and the sleeveless undershirt, and then peeled the undershirt off, leaving her in a sports bra.

“Oh, hell,” Darcy muttered, catching sight of herself in the mirror. Her back and entire left side was mottled purple and blue and red, with a stripe of abraded skin next to her spine where the metal plates had dug into her skin.

“I can heal the abrasions,” Loki told her. “But your ribs need to heal on their own.”

“Yeah, okay,” Darcy replied. She flinched involuntarily when she felt his cold fingers against the flushed, tender skin, and then the familiar tingle of magic. Her pain level didn’t really decrease, as it mainly came from her cracked ribs. She raised her arms to let Loki wind bandages snugly over her ribcage, and it made it easier to breathe.

“Here,” Loki said, summoning a small wooden box from his pocket dimension. He opened it to reveal a collection of glass vials, some filled with liquids and oils, some filled with tablets and pills. He plucked up one vial full of a viscous, amber fluid. “Put three drops of this under your tongue. It will help with any swelling.”

Darcy obeyed, somewhat grateful the liquid had no flavor, and then obediently took the pain tablet he gave her. He’d formulated Asgardian medicines for her human metabolism some time ago, so they didn’t have to mess around with dosages now.

She redressed in her undershirt and an oversized cardigan from her pocket dimension before they joined the others in the kiding room. Fenris had already been given a plate and was sitting next to Clint, scarfing down his dinner with his usual enthusiasm.

Steve met Darcy at the door, handing her a filled plate. “Tony remembered to get you Kosher options,” he said with a tired smile.

“Oh, awesome, thanks,” Darcy said, equally tired.

“How’re you feeling?” Steve asked, looking her up and down. “Think you’ll need to sit the next one out?”

Darcy shook her head. “No, I’ll be okay. Next time I’m gonna follow orders and stay in the damn quinjet, though.”

Steve eyed her skeptically. “You? Follow orders?”

Darcy gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Like  _ you _ can talk, Mister Punches-his-way-out-of-everything.”

“Don’t pick up my bad habits,” Steve told her, patting her shoulder gingerly. “Go sit down.”

Darcy sat down on Fenris’ other side. Clint leaned back so he could look at her. “Hey, kid,” he called softly. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Darcy said quickly before stuffing her mouth full of vegetarian risotto to fend off any more questions. Loki sat beside her and Thor sat on Loki’s other side. The princes leaned their heads together and talking in low voices, using the First Tongue. Darcy didn’t bother trying to eavesdrop, but the rest of the group sent them somewhat bemused looks, except for Clint, who ignored everything except Fenris and his own food.

Darcy managed to get through a plate and a half of food before the painkillers caught up with her, and she startled awake to Loki gently shaking her shoulder. “You should get some rest,” he told her softly.

“Yeah,” she agreed without protest. When she scraped her chair back and stood, Fenris immediately stopped licking the crumbs from his (third) plate and jumped down from his chair, looking up at her with concerned, green eyes. “You can stay if you want,” she told him. He butted his head against her waist and snorted. Darcy ruffled his ears fondly and trudged off in search of a bedroom.

None of the rooms had been claimed yet, so Darcy just took the first one she came across. It had an ensuite bathroom where she could clean up a bit but she didn’t bother undressing further than losing the cardigan. She crawled under the coverlet and fell asleep before Fenris had finished settling down at the end of the bed.

XxxXxxX

Darcy was unpleasantly startled awake by the bedroom door slamming open and Thor’s booming voice calling something her sleep-addled brain did not immediately translate. Beside her, Loki flung back the blankets and rolled off the bed, snapping a reply that Darcy also did not compute. A moment later, Loki leaned over her, hand on her shoulder.

“Darcy, the Maximoffs are in the city. We must move quickly. Do you wish to remain behind?”

“No,” Darcy moaned. “Might need me.” She pushed herself upright and was grateful she had rebraided her hair before falling into bed last night. She summoned a few pins from her pocket dimension and pinned the braid into a knot before exiting the bed. As soon as her feet hit the floor however, there was a wash of pins and needles over her whole body, and then she was fully dressed in her armor.

“Thanks,” she muttered at Loki. He’d done the same thing with himself and Fenris, which meant that they were downstairs within minutes. Steve was still struggling with the many zippers and fastenings of his body armor. Stark was already in his scarred and dented Iron Man suit, and Thor was, of course, fully dressed. Natasha breezed in a moment later, looking fully awake with her hair and makeup done perfectly ( _ Blurgh _ , Darcy thought jealously) and Clint shuffled along behind her, covering a massive yawn with one hand.

“Satellite picked up Stone-altered EMF signature seventeen minutes ago in Schlossplatz,” Stark announced from behind his faceplate. “Looks like they’re still there. I’m picking up multiple heat signatures around them, but I’ve got no way of telling if they’re Hydra or civilians.”

“I’ve contacted the Stuttgart police,” Steve added, finally getting his body armor sorted. “They’re on the way to set up a cordon but we’ve got to move fast to get the twins contained before they get there.”

“I can get there faster than the quinjet,” Stark cut in. “I’ll go on a head. Where’s Banner?”

“Not coming,” Banner announced from behind them. Everyone turned to look at him. He shook his head. “I’m not Hulking out in the middle of the city. The last time I did that I sort of… broke… everything.”

“Fine, fine, stay behind,” Stark said impatiently. “Yo, Falcon,” he said to Sam, who finally stumbled in, holding his wing pack. “Get suited up and follow me.”

Sam looked wordlessly to Steve, who nodded, and then followed Stark out of the room.

It took them another eight minutes to get to Schlossplatz, mostly because of the time it took the quinjet to power up. Clint didn’t land the jet; he merely hovered about fifteen feet above the platz and lowered the loading ramp. Darcy didn’t have a chance to see what was going on before Loki pulled her against his side and teleported them and Fenris directly to the ground.

It was chaos.

Despite the early hour, the platz was full of people, all of whom were screaming and running in all directions. Darcy tried to scan the square but she was too short to see over the heads of the panicking crowd. Loki was still holding on to her, so she used her breathing to trigger a norn-trance, and leapt out of her body. It took her a fraction of a second to gather the information she needed.

“Cap, we’ve got thirty-three Hydra agents dressed in civvies and carrying Stone-guns,” Darcy. “Both of the Maximoffs are here, too, but Pietro is moving too fast for me to track. Wanda is at the center of the platz.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a bead on her,” Stark replied shortly.

“Hold up,” Sam said abruptly. “We’ve got civilians running all over the place, but they’re  _ not leaving the square _ .”

“Not leaving?” Steve demanded. Darcy looked around again and caught sight of him standing about fifty yards away, looking up at Sam and Stark circling overhead. “No one is leaving?”

“Falcon’s right,” Stark replied. “There’s about… hang on… a hundred and… thirteen civilians and not a single one is trying to leave the platz.”

“The female is keeping them here,” Loki told Darcy in a low voice. “She has some power over the mind.”

“Cap, Loki says that Wanda is keeping the civilians in the platz,” Darcy announced over the comms. “Hydra’s using them as human shields.”

“Right. I’m going for the girl,” Stark said, and then the Iron Man suit dove towards the center of the platz and disappeared from Darcy’s sight.

“Stay here,” Loki told Darcy. “Stark will not be able to neutralize the female alone. Fenris, protect your mother.” Without waiting for a reply, he bounded off into the crowd.

Darcy bit back a curse and ducked out of the way of a frantic man who was running around in large circles, screaming and waving his arms over his head. When he passed by her again, Darcy grabbed his arm and dove into his mind. His thoughts were clouded by a red haze that left nothing but panic behind.

It was not nearly as difficult as freeing Loki from the Mind Stone. Darcy swept the red haze aside, allowing the man to shake himself free of Wanda’s influence. He stopped in his tracks, blinking for a moment, and then bolted for the edge of the platz. Darcy grimaced, realizing her new mission. She ran forward towards the next civilian, Fenris bounding along beside her.

“Does anyone have eyes on Pietro?” Steve barked as Darcy freed a young woman with a small child from the artificial panic.

“Sort of,” Clint replied, sounding out of breath. “Sonovabitch is  _ playing _ with me. Can’t pin him down.”

“I’m on my way over,” Darcy said.

“Darce, stay back,” Steve ordered.

“You know of anyone else who can stop time?” she retorted. “I can pin him down.” She took off at a jog towards Clint’s position, only to have Fenris hit her square in the back and take her down to the ground. A bolt of yellow-green energy passed through where her body would have been.

“ _ Shit _ !” Darcy spat. Fenris leapt off of her and she pushed herself upright, her bruised ribs screaming in pain, and saw Fenris tackle a man carrying a now-familiar looking pistol, jaws closing over the man’s throat. “Fenris!”

Darcy pushed to her feet and raced over just as Fenris lifted his head, blood dripping from his mouth, staining the fur on his muzzle red. His green eyes were wide and scared, ringed with white, and his ears were plastered back against his skull. Darcy dropped to her knees beside him, throwing her arms around his neck. The Hydra agent lay still and lifeless beside them, blood still leaking from the gaping tear in his throat.

“It’s okay,” Darcy said into Fenris’ ear, her voice breaking. “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s going to be okay. You did good. It’s not your fault.”

Fenris was shaking and whining high in his throat, nuzzling against Darcy’s face and leaving streaks of blood on her cheeks. Darcy didn’t care; she kept stroking Fenris’ ears and neck. He stopped shaking after about a minute, his muscles tensing again. Darcy sat back on her heels and looked the wolf. He was calmer, his expression grim, so Darcy nodded back at him. She looked around and picked up the Stone-gun, scrubbing the back of her hand against her cheek.

“Let’s go,” she told Fenris, and he jerked his head down in a nod. She turned and headed back towards Clint, dodging mindlessly panicking civilians as she went. “ _ Aus dem Weg _ !” she yelled, but no one was listening to her.

There was a bronze statue of an angel on a tall pedestal in the center of the platz. Clint was perched on top of the base of the pedestal, giving him a decent view of the south side of the square. Darcy reached the pedestal and craned her neck upwards.

“Where is he?” she yelled up at Clint.

“I keep seeing movement over there,” Clint yelled back, pointing to his left. “But I’m not sure. I took to higher ground after he put me on my ass for the third time!”

Darcy braced herself against the pedestal and stretched out her senses again. It only took her a moment to pinpoint Pietro’s location. He was zipping around the center of the platz, stopping for a few seconds and then speeding off again. Darcy pushed away from the pedestal and shoved her way through the crowd towards the last place he had stopped.

There was a stake pushed into the grass, attached to a small black device that had a blinking red light on top. “That’s not good,” Darcy muttered. She reached up to press her comm more firmly in her ear. “Cap, Pietro’s planting some kind of device around the square. I don’t know exactly what it is, though.”

There was no answer. “Cap?” Darcy called again. “Steve?” There was silence over the comm. “Anyone?”

“Darce, I don’t have a visual on any of the others,” Clint said a couple seconds later. He didn’t sound worried, but Dacy knew he probably was. She reached out along her bond with Loki and got a vague response. He was present, alive, and uninjured, but distracted and distant.

“Loki’s still here and not injured,” Darcy reported. “Beyond that I got nothing.”

“Fantastic,” Clint muttered. “Hang on, kid, I’m coming to you.” Darcy turned and saw Clint jump down from the pedestal and start forcing his way through the crowd towards her. Behind him Darcy saw two men prowl forward, drawing pistols from under their jackets.

“Clint, behind you!” Darcy snapped.

Clint was drawing before she finished speaking and spun around. One of the Hydra agents went down with an arrow in his chest. The second got a shot off that Clint dodged while drawing a second arrow. This one went into the agent’s eye.

Clint reached her a moment later and crouched to examine the device. “It’s not a bomb,” he reported. “Some kind of transmitter.” He pulled the stake up and fiddled with it for a moment before the casing popped open. Inside was what appeared to be an old-fashioned glass fuse, only this one was filled with glowing yellow-green filaments.

Darcy leaned forward. “That’s energy from the Mind Stone,” she said with a frown.

“That must be how the female is maintaining control over so many people at once,” Clint muttered. He twitched and, without standing, reached over his shoulder, snatched an arrow, and fired it inches past Darcy’s arm. She whirled around to see a Hydra agent fall over backwards, arrow imbedded in her chest.

“We take out the transmitters, we take out the mind control,” Clint went on. He got to his feet and raised one foot to smash the downed transmitter.

“Wait!” Darcy said, holding out her hand. “Loki taught me a spell for that. I dunno how it’s gonna react with Stone energy, but it’s worth a try.”

Clint gave her a dubious look. “Okay.”

“Stand back,” Darcy ordered, as she summoned her dagger to her hand. She pricked her wrist just deep enough to draw blood, then dabbed her forefinger into the red bead that welled up from the injury. She pressed her bloody fingerprint to the transmitter and whispered under her breath in a sing-song, reaching out with her senses to the energy emitting from the transmitters. It was easy enough to sense them, but Darcy’s seidr worked differently from Loki’s, and to enact the spell to destroy them simultaneously took a great deal of effort.

There was a click from the transmitter, and then the Stone energy flickered. Darcy felt Clint grab the back of her collar and drag her backwards just as the transmitter blew, throwing shards of plastic and clumps of dirt into the air. Around the platz, all the transmitters blew at the same time.

After the explosions, there was a moment of confused silence, then the civilians all began screaming and running again, only this time they were running out of the platz. Within seconds the square was cleared except for the remaining Hydra agents, and the Avengers. 

Darcy almost collapsed with relief when she caught sight of Loki and Steve standing on the other side of the platz. The Hydra agents immediately opened fire on the Avengers, and Darcy saw Steve duck behind his shield. Loki hesitated a fraction of a second, and then raised his hand, green energy dancing between his fingers.

She stepped forward to go help them when Fenris barked a warning, and she turned to see Wanda Maximoff behind her, reaching out towards her with hands that danced with red sparks. Darcy reacted without thinking, reaching up to lace her fingers with Wanda’s, and then  _ pulled _ .

_ They landed in the Hall of Stars very near one of Yggdrasil’s branches, near enough that Darcy could feel the flow of familiar-alien-ancient energy beneath the silver bark. Wanda gasped and tried to pull away from Darcy, but Darcy held tight, keeping her in place. _

_ “What have you done?” Wanda demanded. “What is this place?” _

_ “My name is Sigyn,” Darcy explained. “And this is the Hall of Stars, home of the norns, my sisters.” _

_ Wanda stared at Darcy with wide, brown eyes, terrified and defiant at the same time. “I have never heard of this place, or of you,” she said, trying to sound strong, but her voice shook. _

_ “Most humans haven’t,” Darcy told her. “But my sisters and I are powerful, more than you can imagine. Our duty is to protect life in the universe, to maintain balance, enforce fate. You are hurting my friends, and I can’t let you do that anymore.” _

_ Wanda tried to yank her hand free again and, failing that, raised her other as if to project a blast of energy at Darcy. Nothing happened. _

_ “Your abilities don’t work here,” Darcy said, and let go of Wanda’s hand. The girl recoiled backwards several steps, trying to get away from Darcy. Darcy stepped forward, and didn’t allow Wanda to leave.  _

_ “Wanda, I’m not going to hurt you,” Darcy assured her. “I’m actually trying to help you.” _

_ “I don’t need help from America,” Wanda spat, trying to leave again. Darcy altered the physics of the area immediately surrounding them so that no matter how many steps she took, Wanda did not get anywhere. _

_ “I’m not an American,” Darcy retorted. “Okay, maybe I am, technically, but that’s not  _ all _ I am. I’m a norn. I know what Hydra did to you and your brother. I know what they are making you do.” _

_ Wanda stopped to stare at her again. “How do you know that?” she demanded. _

_ “I’m psychic, like you,” Darcy replied. “Wanda, I want to stop Hydra. Stop them from hurting anyone else. Stop them from hurting your hometown. Please let me help you.” _

_ “Why should I trust you?” Wanda growled at her, giving up on trying to escape. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest and glared at Darcy. “You work with the Americans. With Stark and the Captain.” _

_ “Well, I don’t work with Stark all that willingly,” Darcy admitted. “But yes, because they are good people who are trying to help.” _

_ “Good people,” Wanda sneered. “It was Stark weapons that ravaged our city. Stark weapons that killed our parents. And where was America then? Where was your grand Captain when Sokovia was burning? Good people have never helped us before. Why would they start now?” _

_ Darcy reached up to rub her forehead. “You realize that Hydra wants to take over the whole world, right?” she said, exasperated. “Not just Sokovia. Not just America. The  _ whole damn planet _. If we don’t stop them,  _ every _ country is going to burn. If you help them, you will be condemning your own country.” _

_ “And you think you can stop them?” Wanda asked in disbelief. “The eight of you? Tortured by so many demons you cannot outrun them even now? It was not even difficult, to bring them screaming to the surface, to watch your precious friends fall apart from the inside.” _

_ Darcy stepped forward, hands balling into fists. She let her power well the the surface, creating an aura around her, but instead of the usual brightness of the norn, her power was dark and angry, a storm of wind and lighting and void. It frightened her, but she refused to let it show.  _

_ “ _ What did you do _?” Darcy demanded, her voice shaking the floor beneath their feet. _

_ Wanda fell back several steps, her face going bloodless, but to her credit, she faced Darcy with squared shoulders and high head. “I showed them their truth,” she said defiantly. _

_ Darcy--no, Sigyn-- narrowed her eyes at the mortal. “You wish to see the truth?” she hissed at the girl. “I will show you  _ Truth _.” _

_ The norn reached out towards Yggdrasil, toward the vast, alien consciousness of the universe, to the knowledge that resided in the World Tree. She could see the red thread of the mortal’s existence, her past and present and future, all the way to her not very distant end. _

_ “This is your  _ Truth _ ,” Sigyn snarled. “As long as you serve Hydra you will have the blood of innocents on your hands. Your country will crumble to nothing and your people will burn. You will watch your brother die before you. You will see the world divided and consuming itself in blood and fire and smoke, and it will be on your head. You do not believe me? Then witness!” _

Wanda fell to her knees in a ruined church, surrounded by metal robots, a wave of scarlet light exploding from her body; not far away Pietro collapsed the ground, riddled with bullet holes while blood seeped onto the dirt beneath him

_ Blink _

Destruction rained down on Sokovia from the sky, flattening cities and villages alike, crushing fleeing humans under hundreds of thousands of rocks and boulders until the whole country was nothing but a wasteland.

_ Blink _

Wanda stood on a hot street surrounded by people while she struggled to contain the energy of an explosion. She lifted the swirling ball of fire and red energy away from the people around her but she could not hold it any longer and blasted outward, taking down the side of a nearby building.

_ Blink _

Wanda sat on the floor in a cold, white cell, wearing a blue straitjacket. There was a metal collar around her throat. The air was stale and recycled, and outside the prison the ocean waves were whipped up by a storm.

_ Blink _

Darcy released Wanda from the visions the same moment she returned them to Schlossplatz. Wanda stumbled away from Darcy with a faint scream, her face ashen. She fell onto her hindquarters and scrambled backwards, breathing heavily.

“What was that?” she screeched at Darcy. “What did you show me?”

“The truth,” Darcy replied sadly.

There was a blur of motion, and then Pietro appeared, kneeling beside Wanda. “What did she do to you?” he demanded, glaring at Darcy.

“We have to go,” Wanda panted at him. “We have to leave, now! Go far away!”

Pietro scooped his sister up in his arms and then vanished. Darcy did not try to stop him. She felt emotionally drained and the visions she had shown Wanda had disturbed her, as well. There was more to them, she was sure, she just didn’t have time to delve into them at the moment.

“Darcy?” At the sound of her name, Darcy looked around, startled, and saw Clint standing at her elbow, leaning towards her with a concerned expression on his face. “Hey, kid, you okay?”

“Yeah,” Darcy said breathlessly. “Yeah, fine. I, uh, I don’t think we need to worry about the twins anymore.”

Clint nodded and stepped away from her side, giving her the opportunity to look around. The only ones still standing in the Platz were the Avengers. There were bodies scattered over the grass, but Darcy didn’t bother to see if they were alive or dead.

The first thing she noticed was Stark, standing by the fountain, stock-still, the faceplate of his helmet raised, staring off into the distance. Not far away, Natasha was sitting on the edge of the fountain, her head cradled in her hands. Sam was wandering around aimlessly, his wings retracted into his pack.

Darcy frowned and turned around. Steve was by the pedestal, helmet dangling loosely from one hand and his shield at his feet. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed. He looked exhausted, defeated. Darcy took a couple steps toward him when Fenris whined at her side. She looked down and saw him take off bounding across the platz to where Loki was sitting on the grass, knees drawn up to his chest and arms wrapped around his head. Thor knelt next to him, one hand on Loki’s back, the other on his arm, speaking quietly and urgently.

Darcy took off after Fenris but the wolf arrived first, slowing to a halt before he crashed into his father and nosing at Loki’s raised arms. Loki raised his head just enough to look at Fenris. His face was completely bloodless, drawn and wan, his eyes more haunted than Darcy had seen since he had returned from Ragnarok. He unfolded to draw Fenris into his lap, pressing the wolf completely against his chest. He wrapped his arms around the wolf’s neck and buried his face against Fenris’ fur.

Darcy reached them and dropped to her knees. “What happened?” she demanded. Loki said nothing, not lifting his face from Fenris’ pelt. She looked up at Thor, who did not appear much better off than Loki.

“The girl,” Thor said in a ragged voice. “She put visions in our heads.”

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Darcy whispered feelingly.

“Darcy,” Clint said through the comm in her ear. “You need to get Thor and Loki moving. I’ve got the others. Meet us at the quinjet. I think the girl messed with their heads.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Darcy replied flatly.

“Whatever happened, we need to get them out of here,” Clint told her shortly.

It took three minutes of pleading and prodding to get Loki on his feet, and even then he refused to let go of Fenris, carrying the wolf in his arms as Darcy led the two Asgardians back to the quinjet. The others were already inside, still looking dazed and in shock. Darcy left her husband and brother-in-law in the hold with the rest and went to find Clint in the cockpit.

“I’ll touch down at the manor to pick up Banner,” he told her. “We got to get them somewhere they can shake this off.”

Darcy sank into the co-pilot’s chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Wanda told me she showed them their truths,” she said.

“Yeah, well, it did a real number on them,” Clint muttered angrily.

Darcy lowered her hand and shook her head. She reached for the co-pilot’s headset and put it on. “I’ll contact Stuttgart PD and brief them on what happened,” she said with a sigh.

“Maybe leave out the part where seventy percent of the team appear to be shell-shocked?” Clint said, getting the jet into the air.

“Probably for the best,” Darcy replied, turning towards the communications panel. “Where are you taking us?”

**“Home,” Clint said simply. **


	10. We Never Quite Thought We Could Lose It All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you panic, no, this is not all of Laura we are getting in this story. I have been waiting a long time to be able to write her, so she is getting more screentime than 5 seconds. 
> 
> Also, through a random twist of fate I have actually had Saturdays and Sundays off for the last three months before changing my days off and I have forgotten how quiet it gets here on the weekend, so I actually have more time to write at work. Yay!

When Clint said “home,” Darcy wasn’t sure what he meant. The Tower, maybe? Darcy knew Clint had a suite, but did he actually live there? Where _did_ Clint live? Obviously he had a home, or he wouldn’t be taking the team there.

Darcy checked the coordinates on the control panel as Clint began the descent. They were currently somewhere over central Ohio, and when they broke through the cloud cover, Darcy saw they were heading to what appeared to be a small farm surrounded by trees and rolling countryside.

“This is yours?” Darcy asked Clint, leaning forward to get a better look out the windshield.

“Yup,” Clint replied, slightly distracted as he maneuvered the jet down between the treeline and a vegetable garden.

Darcy eyed Clint sidelong, wondering who exactly worked the farm while he was busy Avenger-ing. Avenging? Whatever. The point was, someone lived on the farm while Clint was away. Someone he trusted.

Once the quinjet was on the ground, Clint unclipped his harness and slid out of the cockpit, Darcy right behind him. Loki was still seated on the floor of the hold, Fenris curled up in his lap. He looked slightly better, no longer as if he was on the verge of a complete meltdown. But his pale eyes were still haunted, and he kept himself closed off from Darcy. Every gentle probe she’d sent in his direction had been forcefully rebuffed.

Thor sat on the floor beside Loki, one hand idly stroking Fenris shoulder while he stared off into the distance. Darcy crouched in front of them, and Fenris lifted his head to greet her. She scratched the underside of his jaw.

“Hey,” she said softly. “We’re here.”

Thor and Loki both blinked and focused on her with identical expressions. For not being blood related they certainly had a lot in common. “Where, precisely, is ‘here’?” Loki asked in a low, raspy voice.

“Central Ohio,” Darcy replied. “Other than that, couldn’t tell you. Somewhere safe, though, according to Clint.” She reached out to touch Loki’s hand, but he snatched it away before she could make contact with his skin. She tried not to feel insulted, remembering how things were right after Ragnarok, when he couldn’t touch her without overwhelming her with his chaotic memories.

Darcy looked around the quinjet. Sam was on his feet, talking in a low voice to Steve, who had his head down, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. Clint was helping Natasha to stand, and Bruce was standing over Stark, gently poking Stark in the shoulder over and over until Stark slapped his hand away with a scowl.

“Up and at ‘em,” Clint called, hitting the controls to lower the ramp. He was the first off, one arm looped around Natasha’s waist. The others followed slowly, peering around in distant curiosity at the idyllic setting.

As they approached the house, Darcy heard excited barking, and then a yellow labrador mix bounded around the side of the barn and raced towards Clint. Fenris immediately went on high alert, tail and ears up, hackles raised.

Both Natasha and Clint leaned down to greet the dog with ear scratches and head pats, but the dog only stayed a few seconds before excitedly going to investigate the others. Darcy grabbed at Fenris’ collar, unsure of what he would do, but he lunged forward before she could stop him. He set himself directly in the dog’s path, peering down his muzzle at the smaller canine.

The dog wasn’t even fazed. It wagged its tail furiously and licked Fenris’ chin obligingly, panting happily at meeting another canine. Darcy could see Fenris’ eyes get wide. He’d never had any meaningful contact with any dogs (or wolves, for that matter) and he clearly wasn’t expecting to make an instant friend.

Clint turned around to watch the dog’s antics and smiled lopsidedly at Fenris. “Sorry, kid,” he told the wolf. “That’s Lucky. He means well, even if he is a dope. He’ll lick you to death if you let him.”

Fenris transferred his gaze back to the dog dancing excitedly in front of him, and cautiously lowered his head to exchange sniffs with Lucky. The dog licked Fenris’ muzzle again and Fenris slowly backed away and went to hide behind Loki.

Clint whistled. “Lucky, leave ‘em alone,” he called, and Lucky whirled around to prance in happy circles around Clint and Natasha as they made their way to the house again. They got to the front porch and Clint reached for the door, only to have it slam open, almost hitting Clint in the face.

A dark-haired boy of approximately 12 years old flew out through the doorway and launched himself at Clint, forcing Clint to let go of Natasha in order to catch him. “You’re back!” the boy exclaimed, clinging to Clint’s waist.

“Looks like,” Clint replied, hugging the boy back. “Where’s your mom and sister?”

The boy bounced away from Clint and stuck his head back through the doorway. “Mom! Lila! Dad’s back!” He turned around and grinned up at Natasha. “Hey, Aunt Nat!”

“Hey, Cooper,” Natasha said tiredly, holding her arms out for a hug. The boy obliged, not noticing the dark shadows under her eyes.

“Wait a second,” Stark piped up. “Dad? _Aunt Nat_? Barton, you have a kid? You never said anything about a kid.” He stepped back, looking around the farm. “As love nests go, not great, but to each their own, I guess. How have you never told anyone about your secret love child?”

A tow-headed girl of eight or so pattered out onto the front porch and gave a piercing squeal, running over to jump into Natasha’s arms, who was prepared for her. “Aunt Nat, you’re here!” the girl cried, clinging to Natasha’s neck.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Clint complained, one arm resting on Cooper’s shoulder.

The little girl twisted in Natasha’s arms to look at him. “Hi, daddy,” she said with a gap-toothed grin.

“ _Two_ secret love children,” Stark amended.

“Guys, this is Cooper and Lila,” Clint announced. “And this is Laura,” he added as a heavily pregnant woman with long, dark hair appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a plaid flannel shirt that was several sizes too large and her hair was tied back with a kerchief. She drifted over to Clint’s side and he slipped an arm around her waist. “My wife,” he added.

Everyone stared at him for a moment. “Hi,” Stark said at length. “We would have called ahead, but we were busy not knowing you existed.”

“Fury helped me set this place up when I joined the team,” Clint explained. “Someplace I knew they’d be safe.”

Steve stepped forward, offering his hand. “Sorry to drop in like this, ma’am. I’m Steve--”

“I know who you are,” Laura interrupted with a kind smile. “I know who all of you are. And you’re welcome here. Any time. Please, come on in.”

Natasha was the first to move towards the door. The others sort of shuffled around uncertainly, until there was a general movement forward. Except for Loki, who abruptly turned on his heel and strode off. Fenris whined and bounded after him, catching up easily and falling in step beside them. They disappeared around the side of the barn, leaving everyone staring after them.

Darcy sighed. “I’ll go talk to him,” she said wearily, and started in that direction. Behind her she heard Laura ask, “What happened? Is he alright?” Darcy was already too far away to hear the answer.

Loki was standing by the quinjet, staring off into the trees, hands clasped behind his back. Fenris sat at his side, head tilted up to watch his father’s face. Darcy came to stand by his other side.

“You want to tell me what’s wrong?” she asked quietly.

“I assume you intend on hounding me until I do?” Loki replied archly.

Darcy nodded, staring out at the trees as well. “Yup.”

“I do not understand why Barton would bring us here. Bring _me_ here. This is his home, his family.” Loki’s voice was flat and emotionless, the way it got when he was the most distressed.

“He wanted someplace where we would feel safe,” Darcy told him, turning her head to look up at him.

“It cannot be safe as long as I am here,” Loki said bitterly.

Darcy stared at him for a minute, thinking carefully over her next words. “Do you… do you think you’re a danger to yourself or others right now?” she asked in a neutral voice.

A flicker of expression passed over his face, as swift as lightning, and then the impassive mask was back in place. “When am I not?” he asked. He didn’t sound bitter anymore, just tired.

Darcy looked down at the tall grass at her feet. She felt like they had done this conversation to death, not just recently but also over the last two years. Every few weeks Loki would have a mild panic attack when one of the girls got even slightly hurt, his confidence crumbling while he questioned his ability to be a stable parent. For him to once more circle back to this insecurity… well, whatever Wanda had done to him, she’d managed to strip away what little confidence he’d managed to build back up.

“Why do you feel that way?” Darcy asked, keeping her voice calm and gentle.

Loki grunted, clenching his hands into fists. “The girl, Wanda. She gave us a gift. She showed us our true selves, our darkest truths. Do you know what I saw?”

Darcy hesitated, peering closely at his shuttered expression. “Why don’t you tell me?” she invited.

He held out his right hand, palm facing away from him. His fingernails turned black, sharpening to short claws. His skin darkened to sapphire blue, scars appearing on the back of his hand. As Darcy watched, the blue enveloped his entire body, his eyes turning blood-red.

Darcy didn’t react to his transformation, or to the sudden drop in the ambient temperature. The grass at their feet crackled as it iced over, and Darcy’s breath puffed out in white clouds.

Loki lowered his hand and turned to Darcy, his expression still rigid. “This is what I saw,” he said softly. “My true self.” He looked at his hands, turned them over to examine the markings on the back of them. “I saw myself executed as a traitor, our son abandoned on the side of a frozen mountain. I saw our daughters cast out, alone and vulnerable. And I saw you, stripped of your title and your power, ridiculed and degraded.”

Darcy felt her heart clench so hard her chest hurt. She desperately wanted to touch him, to dive into his mind and wipe those visions away. But she didn’t touch him, didn’t make any move towards him, and took a deep breath.

“You saw what would happen if Asgard ever found out you are a Jotun,” Darcy said softly. Loki nodded, unable to meet her eyes. Darcy nodded back. “You know that’s utter bullshit, right?” she said bluntly.

Loki blinked, startled, and looked up at her with a frown. “Do you really think that your parents, your _mother_ , is going to let _anything_ happen to our children?” Darcy demanded fiercely. “Do you really think _Thor_ would just stand aside and let them _kill_ you? What about my sisters? You can be damn sure I am calling them in if anyone even _thinks_ about hurting my family. And if you think that they are going to stand aside just because you’re a fucking Frost Giant, then you are way stupider than I ever thought possible.”

Loki shook his head. “If the people of Asgard discovered what I truly am, Odin’s throne would fall. They would tear him down without a moment’s hesitation. What authority would he have to protect our children?”

Darcy gestured. “Uh, hello, _Thor_ . Prince or not he is literally the most badass warrior Asgard has. And you _know_ the Warriors Three will do anything he asks. And _Odin_ and _Frigga_ , who are the top two magic-users in the entire realm next to you. Oh, yeah, and _you_ . I have seen the kind of things you can do, babe. If anyone came for our kids, god help the poor son of a bitch, because I _know_ you will bring hurt right to them.”

She paused for a moment and then pointed at her own face. “And lastly but definitely not leastly, there is me. Norn. Mother of the Ways. Current host of Ragnarok.” She raised an eyebrow challengingly. “If anyone, and I mean _anyone_ , threatens my family, I will burn them, without hesitation, without mercy, right out of existence.”

Darcy stepped forward and took his ice-cold hand in hers. “No one is going to hurt us,” she assured him softly.

He pulled his hand out of her grasp and stepped back. “But I might,” he said.

Darcy kept her frustration off her face. “Loki,” she began, but he shook his head at her.

“My mind has been subverted before, it could be again,” he insisted.

“I won’t let that happen,” Darcy replied flatly.

“You cannot possibly guard against that at all times,” Loki snapped.

“Yes, I _can_ ,” Darcy retorted. “I can reach you anywhere in the galaxy, Loki. I _will_ find you and I _will_ keep you from getting mind-controlled. I am not letting you get hurt, or hurt anyone. End of story.” She stepped forward, reaching up to cup his face in one hand, not flinching away from the icy temperature of his skin. “Hey. Look, I know whatever you saw was horrible, and I wish I could have stopped Wanda before she hurt you. But _please_ , babe. You have to know that wasn’t real.”

“But it could have been,” Loki said softly, even as he leaned into her touch.

Darcy sighed. “Okay,” she said finally, knowing no amount of talking was going to convince Loki he was wrong. “What do you need from me? What can I do?”

Loki hesitated for a moment, and then closed his eyes briefly, concentrating. The blue faded from his skin, tribe markings smoothing over. He opened his eyes and they were back to the pale green she was familiar with.

“Can we sit?” he asked. “Just for a while?”

Darcy nodded and he stepped away from the now-thawing grass at their feet, finding a dry patch to lower himself down onto. Darcy started to sit next to him, but her circled his arm around her waist and drew her into his lap, settling his arms around her. Darcy snuggled against his chest, resting her head against his shoulder. Loki was not generally a tactile person (except in his sleep) so Darcy knew he had to have been _really_ rattled to want to use her like a teddy bear. But she said nothing, letting him hold her for as long as he needed.

Fenris tucked himself against Loki’s side, resting his head on his father’s knee, and blew out a deep sigh.

XxxXxxX

Loki knew, intellectually, that Darcy was right. In the event that their family was threatened, there would be numerous people who would rise to the occasion to protect them, not in the least would be Darcy and himself. But the fear that gnawed at his heart was that there would be a threat, and he would be incapacitated somehow, unable to fight back.

The vision that the Maximoff girl had showed him was difficult to shake off. It clung like oil to his mind, whispering dark words to him. _You cannot save them_ , it said. _You are not strong enough_. He had too many voices in his head as it was. He didn’t need any others.

But Darcy’s warm presence in his arms helped him to hold back the darkness, as it usually did, allowing him to focus on what was _real_ , on what was _present_. The visions may have felt real, but they most certainly were not.

Darcy seemed to be happy enough to stay curled against his chest for as long as he needed, but he knew they both needed food and rest, and a shower, if one was available. So it was with great reluctance that he eventually loosened his hold on her, allowing her to straighten, to turn and look back at him.

“Better?” she asked. He nodded slightly, unwilling to voice a lie to her, and she got to her feet, offering a hand to him. He hardly needed her assistance but he took her hand anyway, letting her pull him to his feet.

Fenris leapt to his feet as well, tail sweeping from side to side. Loki rested his hand between his son’s shoulder blades, massaging gently the way he knew Fenris liked. Together the three of them headed back to the farmhouse.

Loki hesitated at the door, but Darcy stepped past him and knocked. There was a moment of waiting, and then the door was pulled open by the boy, Barton’s son. “Hi!” he greeted excitedly. He looked between the two of them and at their armor. “You’re an alien, too?” he asked Loki.

Loki strongly disliked that word, as it suggested that the speaker’s realm was the ruler by which all things must be measured, but he certainly was not going to call out the behavior of a young child. “Yes,” he finally said. “I am from Asgard.”

“That’s so _cool_!” the boy exclaimed. He bounced on his toes. “I’m Cooper. Except you already knew that. You’re Loki. Dad told us all about you!”

Loki stiffened involuntarily. Barton had told his children about him? What, precisely had he told them? That Loki had co-opted his mind, forced Barton to serve him, and Thanos by extension.

“My brother’s name is Cooper, too,” Darcy said as she glanced quickly in Loki’s direction. “He’s a little taller than you, though.”

“And you’re Darcy,” young Cooper went on. “Can you really see the _future_?”

“Sometimes,” Darcy replied lightly.

“Awesome!” Cooper breathed. He looked down at Fenris. “Can I pet your dog?”

Fenris huffed, annoyed, and took a step backwards behind Loki. “He is a wolf, not a dog,” Loki explained politely. “He is also as sentient as you or I, and does not like being called a dog.”

Cooper frowned. “What does ‘sentient’ mean?” he asked.

“It means he’s a person, just shaped like a wolf,” Darcy cut in.

Before Cooper could respond, Barton called from inside the house. “Cooper! Let them inside already!”

“Sorry!” Cooper yelped, and turned to dart back into the house. Loki exchanged a glance with Darcy, who shrugged back with a faint smile. She was the first to enter the house, Loki close behind. Fenris kept close to Loki’s side, on alert for Lucky’s reappearance.

The house was full of people. Stark, Sam, Thor, and Bruce were in the living room. Thor was holding Mjolnir out for Lila to inspect while Sam and Bruce were deep in conversation. Stark was wandering through the room, poking at the pictures and decor.

Thor looked up when they entered. Loki did not know what Wanda had shown Thor. Neither of them had been inclined to discuss their visions on the flight here. Thor appeared weary in a way Loki could not recall ever seeing him before. He appeared hunted, like he could feel the dark wings of the carrion birds stooping behind him, and was unable to escape.

Loki was surprised to feel a sudden tug of empathy for his brother in his chest. It was not that he did not care for his brother; he did, he would die for his brother without a moment’s hesitation (after, of course, exhausting every other option). But Loki was not, as a rule, an empathetic person. He had little energy to spare for emotion, and the majority of what he had was jealously allotted to his wife and children.

He felt, against his better judgment, that he should speak with Thor, to see what it was that the Maximoff girl had shown him. After all, Thor did not have Jane here to comfort him, and Thor was no more inclined to speak of such matters to others than Loki was.

Darcy drew him from his thoughts by touching his arm, and he looked down at her. “I’m going to see if they need any help in the kitchen,” she told him. “Clint’s wife got a lot more mouths to feed than she expected.”

Loki nodded at her and offered her a faint smile. She squeezed his arm and drifted off towards the kitchen. Cooper bounced over to Loki again. “Can your wolf come out and play with us?”

Loki looked down at Fenris, who looked back up at him, tail held low. He knew Fenris would prefer to remain with him, but he’d already burdened the child with enough of his parent’s emotions. He did not need any more. “Go off with you,” he instructed Fenris. “Behave. His name is Fenris,” he told Cooper.

Cooper grinned and held his hand out to Fenris. “Hi! I’m Cooper!” Fenris blew out a deep sigh and sat back on his haunches, raising one paw to place in Cooper’s hand. The boy seemed delighted, and when he ran towards the back door, his sister beside him, Fenris followed with one last, pleading look at his father.

Stark had wandered into the kitchen and had been violently rebuffed, and was now outside with Rogers. Wilson and Banner were still talking quietly, Banner carrying most of the conversation. Loki crossed over to Thor’s side.

“We should speak, brother,” he said quietly in the First Tongue.

Thor gave him a confused look. “Of what?”

“Of what we saw,” Loki replied, keeping his voice from sounding too pained.

“ _You_ wish to speak of it?” Thor asked skeptically.

“Darcy insists that speaking to another does help in some small way, and you  have no one else to speak to,” Loki said impatiently. “But if you do not feel it necessary…”

“It is not that,” Thor interrupted quickly. “You have just never been very open about such matters before.”

Loki raised an eyebrow and waited for Thor to realize that the majority of what people thought as his personality was actually constructed by Skuld with the intent to isolate Loki and create suspicion towards him. To his credit, it only took Thor a few seconds.

“Yes,” Thor said apologetically. “If you are willing, I would speak of it.”

They left the house, Thor placing Mjolnir safely in a corner, out of the way. They had to walk past Rogers and Stark, who were currently chopping wood on the side of the farmhouse. The mortals both stopped talking at the sight of the Asgardians.

“You guys okay?” Rogers called, squinting against the sun at them.

“We are well, thank you,” Thor called back.

“Don’t wander off,” Stark said, waving a hand at the trees. “Would hate for you two to get lost.”

Loki rolled his eyes and Thor did not deem that worthy of a response. The two brothers pushed past the barn all the way to the tree line until they were sure they would not be interrupted. Loki leaned his shoulder against a tree and crossed his arms while Thor paced back and forth for a few silent minutes.

Thor abruptly stopped and spun around on his heel to frown at Loki. “What did you see?” he asked bluntly.

Loki shrugged his free shoulder. “Myself executed as a traitor. My children abandoned and starving. Darcy stripped of her powers. Exactly what the mortal girl knew would cause the most harm.” He kept his tone flat and unemotional, despite the reluctance of the words to be spoken.

Thor nodded to himself and stood deep in thought. “I saw--” he began, but cut himself off. “I saw Asgard,” he started again. “Brought to darkness and bloodshed. I saw the house of Odin fall. And I saw…” his voice trailed off and he looked down at his hands, opening and clenching them.

“I saw Jane.” Thor’s voice was rough now. “I saw her grow old and frail before my eyes, and I could do nothing to stop it.”

Loki blew out a silent breath through his nose. Ah, yes. He had been mindful of this moment since Thor and Jane had begun their courtship, the moment Thor would remember that Jane was mortal and doomed to a mortal lifespan.

“That could not have been easy for you,” Loki said, mimicking Darcy’s calm, neutral tone.

Thor snorted and clenched his fists again. “No,” he said shortly. He took a deep breath. “Was I a fool, Loki? For letting myself become so entangled in a mortal?”

Loki had absolutely no desire to comment on his brother’s romantic inclinations whatsoever, but Thor was clearly expecting a reply. He sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That is not a question I can answer for you, brother,” he said after a moment. “You must determine for yourself if it is worth it.”

“Of course she is worth it!” Thor exclaimed hotly. “She is worth the pain a hundred times over. But that does not change the fact that her lifespan is but a fraction of mine!”

Loki lowered his hand and stared at his brother for a few heartbeats. There was nothing he could say, no comfort that he could offer, that would ring anywhere close to truth. Thor went back to pacing, his expression darkening, and then he turned on Loki again.

“There are tales,” he said, searching Loki’s face intently. “Of mortals who were… granted longevity. We heard them as children. Is there anything… do you know of anything? Have you seen anything in your studies that could save her?”

“Save her?” Loki echoed. “Thor, there is nothing to save. Jane is healthy, in the prime of her life. What you are asking is that she be made immortal. I have heard the tales as well as you, but there is nothing in my knowledge of magicks that could accomplish that.”

Thor’s shoulders slumped and he scowled at the grass beneath his boots. Loki sighed again and pushed away from the tree, walking over to his brother and putting his hand on his shoulder. Thor’s head snapped up and he peered inquiringly at Loki, as the younger prince rarely, if ever, initiated physical contact with anyone other than his wife and children.

“You are asking the wrong question, brother,” Loki told him gently. “You are asking ‘how’ when you should be asking ‘if.’ Would Jane even wish to be immortal? If she was, you would marry her, no?”

“In a heartbeat,” Thor replied immediately. “Of course.”

“You will be king of Asgard one day, Thor,” Loki reminded him. “Does Jane have any desire to be queen?”

Thor stared at him for a long time, his blue eyes thoughtful and sad. “I do not know,” he admitted.

“Perhaps therein lies your answer,” Loki said. He patted Thor’s shoulder. “Loving a mortal is not an easy task. You are braver than you know to take this on. But you must count the years you have as precious, not waste them looking for a fool’s hope.”

Thor reached up to rub one large hand down his face with an explosive sigh. “You are right, as you always are,” he muttered without any heat. “You were always wiser than I, brother.”

“Hardly wiser,” Loki disagreed. “Most definitely more clever, though.”

Thor dropped his hand and glared at Loki without any ire, but his expression softened after a moment. “Yes, you are,” he admitted, and it was his turn to clap Loki on the shoulder. “Always have been. Thank you, Loki. You were right. I feel, not at peace, but clearer.” He nodded to himself. “I know what I must do.”

Loki nodded back with a crooked smile. “Happy to be of service, as always,” he said dryly.

“What of you, brother?” Thor asked. “Did you speak with Darcy? Did she help to clear your mind?”

“Yes, of course,” Loki lied, as easy as breathing. “I am fine, now.”

“Good,” Thor said firmly, and smacked his hand against Loki’s shoulder hard enough to cause Loki to overbalance, forcing him to catch himself. “Come. Barton requested we eat a meal together, as battle-brothers.”

“And sisters,” Loki added, feeling a twinge of guilt that he quickly shoved aside.

“Yes, and sisters,” Thor agreed.

When they returned to the farmhouse, the children, Stark, and Rogers had already gone inside. When the Asgardians entered through the back door, there was a low hum of conversation, and mortals were scattered through the dining and living room, holding plates piled high with food. The smell of it reminded Loki quite abruptly that he had had nothing to eat since the previous evening. He followed the smell of food into the kitchen.

He was just in time to see Darcy hold out a plate to Stark, who juggled a handful of silverware and two bottles of beer until he could free a hand to take the plate. Stark’s fingers brushed against Darcy’s, and she gasped and jerked her hand back, causing the plate to fall to the floor and shatter, spilling food everywhere. Darcy stared wide-eyed and horrified at Stark for several seconds while he stared confusedly back.

“What,” Darcy demanded fiercely. “The _fuck_. Is Ultron?”


	11. Don't Look Clear Cause It's All Uphill From Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An update already??? Who is this strange person who is posting??? Look at this, I got a whole chapter written in one sitting! 
> 
> So usually I am better at keeping up with this sort of stuff, but guys we are at over 55k words and 138 pages! Woohoo!

Darcy was still reeling from what she had seen when she’d touched Stark’s hand. Metal robots swarming the Avengers, a city falling from the sky, but more than that, a whole series of interconnected events that ended with the Avengers fighting amongst themselves on an airport tarmac, doing their best to rip each other to pieces.

This is what she had started to discover when she’d shown Wanda her future. This is what she’d been afraid to dig into, the truth lurking under the surface. And it was all because of something called _Ultron_.

Stark was staring at her in shock, ignoring the shattered plate and spilled food at his feet. “How the hell do you know about Ultron?” he demanded.

“I’m a fucking _norn_ , you dumbass,” Darcy snapped. “What _is_ it?”

Darcy belatedly noticed that everyone was watching them, even the ones who’d already gotten their food and had gone into the living room. Steve stood right behind Loki, a frown on his face and his beer forgotten in one hand.

“Tony, tell her what it is,” Steve prompted.

Stark growled in frustration and waved one hand. “It’s a program,” he said at length. “I’ve been developing it for the last couple of years. It’s an AI, designed to work to keep the world safe, to replace _us_. To work as a superhero, so we don’t have to.”

Sam looked between Darcy and Stark for a moment. “That doesn’t sound… horrible,” he said cautiously.

“Except it won’t _work_ ,” Darcy spat. “It goes all Skynet on us and then Judgement Day! It goes _wrong_ , Stark. It doesn’t save anyone. It tears the Avengers apart.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Stark demanded.

“I can see the future!” Darcy retorted. “And that’s what I saw! Because of Ultron, I saw you guys, all of you, trying to rip into each other, like some kind of damn civil war!”

Steve squeezed past Loki, who stepped aside for him, and crossed to Darcy’s side. “You’re sure?” he asked her softly. “Ultron is bad news?”

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Ultron will ruin everything,” she said softly, but her conviction rang true in her voice. “Whatever happens, Ultron _has_ to be destroyed.”

Steve turned to Stark. “Shut it down,” he told Stark firmly. “When we get back to the tower, you bury it.”

“Really?” Stark demanded. “You’re siding with _her_ ? How many AIs has _she_ made? I’m an _expert_ at making AIs. I know what I’m doing, and I’m telling you, Ultron will _work_ . It’s genius, because _I’m_ a genius. Ultron is going to make the world a better place, Steve!”

“It’s not worth the risk,” Steve insisted.

“Oh, I get it now,” Stark snarled. “You don’t trust me. After everything I have done for this team, you _still_ don’t trust me. Why’s that, _Captain_ ? Still not good enough for you? Doesn’t matter that I practically fund this whole initiative. Doesn’t matter that I’ve been doing this superhero schtick just as long as the rest of you. I’ll never be as good as my dad. Is that it, _Cap_? I just can’t measure up to good ol’ Howard?”

“For fuck’s sake, Tony,” Steve barked. “No one said you weren’t good enough! No one is saying this is your fault. But Darcy can see the future, and I’ve never seen her be wrong. If she says Ultron goes sideways, then we need to shut it down.”

“You just can’t stand the idea of being replaced,” Stark spat at Steve. “Always have to be the hero. You _like_ the attention. For all your humble, ‘aw shucks’ attitude, you really get off on it, don’t you. Captain America, _attention whore_.”

Clint stepped forward before anyone could react, taking the silverware from Stark’s hand. “Take a walk, Tony,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument. Stark looked for a moment like he was going to try anyway, but then he saw all the expressions on everyone’s face, and stalked out of the kitchen, slamming the front door behind him as he went.

Darcy let out the breath she was holding and realized she was shaking. Loki stepped around the mess on the floor and pulled her into his arms, letting her curl against his chest while she got her breathing under control.

Laura tried to stoop down to gather the shattered pieces of porcelain, but Clint stopped her. “I got it, honey,” he said. Lucky pushed past Steve’s legs and start gobbling down the fallen food. “Aw, Lucky, no,” Clint said, batting at Lucky’s nose to get him to back off. “You’re gonna eat something sharp. Hang on, buddy.”

Steve rubbed his forehead wearily and looked over at Darcy, who was still tucked safely in Loki’s arms. “You okay?” he asked her softly. Darcy nodded and didn’t say anything. “You’re sure about Ultron, though?” Darcy nodded again. “Okay,” Steve said. “Okay. I’ll make sure he shuts it down.”

“Thank you,” Darcy said in a small voice.

The others drifted off and Loki released Darcy when she finally stopped shaking. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to meet his gaze. He peered intently at her for a long moment, and then nodded slightly, satisfied. Uncaring that Laura and Clint were still in the kitchen, he leaned down and kissed her briefly.

Darcy summoned a smile for him when he pulled away, and then turned to make him a plate of food. When she offered it to him, he frowned as he took it. “This is not Kosher,” he observed.

“You’re not Jewish,” Darcy replied.

“What of you?” he pressed.

“I’ve got it covered,” she assured him. “Go on. Go eat.” He was, of course, reluctant to leave her until she physically pushed him out of the kitchen.

“One of the ultra-protective types, huh?” Laura asked, handing Clint a wet towel to clean the floor.

Darcy rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, well, I can’t fault him. His literal purpose in life now is to be my protector and guardian.”

“It feels that way sometimes, doesn’t it?” Laura said dryly.

“No, honey, she means that literally,” Clint told her, getting to his feet. “The word is, hang on a sec, I got this… lagsmathr?”

“Lagsmaðr,” Darcy corrected. “Pretty darn close, though.”

Laura looked between them. “What is a lagsmaðr?” she asked, pronouncing the word perfectly.

“It’s a companion that a norn takes, who guards, protects, and serves the norn,” Darcy explained, and then hesitated. “You know what a norn is, right?”

Laura nodded, one hand resting on her distended belly. “Yeah, Clint told me all about you.”

Darcy offered her a crooked smile. “Technically Loki and I never actually had a wedding. He’s my lagsmaðr, but we decided to just call ourselves married for simplicity’s sake.”

Laura nodded slowly. “I see,” she said slowly. “So how does that protection thing work when you go on a mission?”

Darcy laughed. “Well, he can’t really stop me, so…” she shrugged. “He just tries to make sure I don’t get myself killed.”

Laura smiled faintly and eyed Darcy’s armor, which she hadn’t had the chance to get out of. “Okay,” she said simply. “You should eat, Darcy. Clint and I can handle everything from here.”

“You’re sure?” Darcy asked.

“Yeah,” Laura assured her. “Go.”

Darcy had a salad waiting for her in the fridge, topped with grilled chicken and vinaigrette sauce. She retrieved it and went to find Loki. He was sitting in the corner of the living room, hunched over his plate, staring blankly at Fenris, who was sitting on the floor in front of Loki, head tilted to the side. Darcy dragged a chair over from the dining room and sat next to him, offering Fenris a piece of chicken from her plate.

“Hey,” she greeted.

Loki blinked and turned to look at her. “Hm,” he greeted, and then abruptly set his plate down on the floor. Fenris gave Loki an inquiring look, and then began to eat.

“Not hungry?” Darcy asked, picking at her own food.

“Are you?” Loki asked archly.

Darcy forced herself to take a mouthful of lettuce. “No,” she admitted while chewing. Loki snorted and leaned back in his chair. He eyed Darcy up and down, and then waved a hand lazily. Darcy gasped when she felt magic tingle over her whole body and choked on her partially-chewed food.

“Apologies,” Loki said, patting her back. Darcy looked down. Her armor was gone, leaving her in the padded trousers, long sleeve shirt, and leather vest she wore underneath.

“Oh. Thanks,” she muttered.

“I would suggest you get some sleep, but I do not think any of us will be able to,” Loki said with a sigh.

“I might if you’re there,” Darcy said hopefully, giving up on her food and letting Fenris finish it for her.

The corner of Loki’s mouth turned up. “Well, then.”

XxxXxxX

Darcy barely slept that night, sandwiched between Loki and Fenris (who had nightmares until Loki soothed them away). Every time she drifted off, she relived the visions of Ultron, the future she had seen for Wanda, and her own imaginations of what Wanda has shown Loki. Loki had eventually dropped into a restless sleep sometime north of midnight, but he twitched and murmured and clutched at Darcy so tightly she lay awake for the rest of the night, listening to his uneven breathing.

By dawn she was irritable and bleary from the lack of sleep, interested only in getting caffeine and something to settle her grumbling stomach. Loki, of course, had no intention of releasing his hold on her, and Fenris was stretched out with his nose pressed to the side of her neck so he breathed in her scent with every inhale.

Darcy reached out along her bond with Loki, slipping into his mind with the ease of much practice. She got a faint taste of his dreams and was not inclined to look any closer, and sent him a tiny, unobtrusive suggestion. Loki sighed heavily and relaxed abruptly, letting Darcy very carefully sit up. Fenris snuffled and opened his green eyes, lifting his head to look at her without changing position.

She held a finger to her lips and gestured for him to stay put. Fenris snuffled again and rolled over, taking Darcy’s place next to Loki, who wrapped his arms around his son as a replacement for Darcy. Fenris sighed and went back to sleep. Despite her dark mood, Darcy couldn’t help but to smile as she wriggled fully off the bed. She had slept in a pair of threadbare sweats she kept in her pocket dimension and a faded Sailor Moon t-shirt she’d had since high school. She quickly changed back into the leather pants and long-sleeved silk shirt that went under her armor.

Darcy had to sneak past Thor, Stark, and Bruce in the living room to get to the kitchen. Natasha, Steve, and Sam had been installed in the other guest bedroom. As they were a family unit, Darcy, Loki, and Fenris had been given a room of their own.

Laura was already awake despite it being just after sunrise, drifting around the kitchen while the smell of coffee filled the room. “Good morning,” she greeted Darcy softly. “I’d ask if you slept well but you have that look, so I won’t.”

“Appreciate it,” Darcy replied, looking around until she found the coffee machine and heading straight for it.

“Mugs are in the cabinet to your left,” Laura told her. Darcy found the mugs and poured herself a cup, which she sipped at black while going to find sugar.

“I was thinking pancakes and eggs for breakfast,” Laura went on. “Seeing as I can make a ton of that. Sound good to you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine, as long as you skip the bacon,” Darcy answered. “Need help?”

“If you’re offering,” Laura said.

For a few minutes they worked in silence, and then Laura spoke up. “You have kids, right? Clint said you adopted some.”

“I have six adopted daughters, a biological son, and a stepson,” Darcy said, deliberately leaving Hela off the list because no one knew about Hela’s relationship to Loki except for Thor, Loki’s parents, and Angrboda.

“Wow,” Laura said, staring at Darcy for a moment. “Sounds like a handful. How old are they?”

Darcy rubbed her nose, unknowingly getting flour on her face. “Uh, the girls are six, Elden--he’s my bio baby--is twenty months, and Fenris is two years next month.”

Laura froze in the act of whisking a huge mixing bowl full of eggs. “Fenris?” she asked. “Your wolf. He’s… your stepson?”

“Yup,” Darcy said. “He’s a hyper-intelligent magical construct made from Loki’s own life-force, making him Loki’s technical offspring.”

“And you were on board with that?” Laura pressed.

“I didn’t really have a choice about it,” Darcy replied. “I was seven months pregnant at the time and Loki just showed up with him one day.”

“Seriously?” Laura asked in disbelief. “He didn’t even _ask_ you?”

Darcy exhaled sharply. “The thing about Loki that I definitely had to learn to accept, is that he hates asking permission to do anything. He had someone inside his head for so long, telling him what to do, that now it’s really important for him to be able to make his own decisions.”

“Yeah, but to show up one day and just hand his _pregnant wife_ another child is asking a bit much, don’t you think?” Laura said.

Darcy giggled despite herself. “Well, it was better than showing up one day and handing me _six_ children.”

“What?” Laura asked flatly.

“Didn’t Clint tell you the story of how we ended up with the girls?” Darcy asked innocently.

“No,” Laura said slowly.

“We got trapped in 1947,” Darcy explained. “Long story, poor planning on my part. _Any_ way, Loki was in Russia doing some freelance work with the SSR and ended up rescuing six four-year-olds from the Red Room. By the time he got back to LA he’d decided he wanted to keep them. That was a few days before we found out I was pregnant with Elden.”

“Oh,” Laura said, slightly unsteadily. “Wow. Okay.”

“Yeah, the first year we were together was kinda non-stop,” Darcy said mildly, finishing the pancake batter.

Steve padded into the kitchen on surprisingly silent feet, looking far more awake than Darcy felt. “Hey,” he greeted her softly. “How you holding up?”

“I have coffee,” Darcy said, and pointed to the coffee machine. “You should get some, too.”

“Thanks,” Steve said, and then turned to Laura. “And you, too, Mrs Barton. Thank you for letting us stay here.”

“One, call me Laura,” Laura instructed. “Two, you and your team are _always_ welcome here.”

Steve nodded and smiled wearily. “Thanks,” he said again.

The others woke up one by one, trickling into the kitchen for coffee (or tea, in Bruce’s case) and quickly shoved back out so Darcy and Laura could finish breakfast. Clint helped out in the serving of the food. For Fenris they grilled a whole mess of chicken, carefully stripping it from the bones before offering it to him with a heaping side of eggs.

Breakfast was a silent, sullen affair as Stark was still sulking and no one else was much in the mood for conversation. After breakfast Steve pulled Stark out to the barn for a private chat. While they were taking care of that, Natasha cornered Loki in the living room, shoving a Stark pad into his hands.

“Do your thing with the search algorithm,” she instructed. “We need to know where the scepter is so we can finish this once and for all.”

Loki cocked an eyebrow at her but took the tablet from her, working silently for several minutes before frowning at the screen. “ _Elskede_ , where did you say the Maximoff twins were from?” he asked, not looking up from the tablet.

“Sokovia, why?” Darcy replied.

Loki raised his eyes to meet hers. “That is where the scepter is,” he said grimly.

Clint crossed his arms. “Looks like Hydra is making good on their threat to level the twins’ hometown,” he said.

“Which means they left Hydra,” Darcy pointed out. “So they’re not a threat anymore.”

“That remains to be seen,” Natasha spoke up. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“In any case,” Darcy said quickly. “We need to get to Sokovia before Hydra racks up a whole lot of collateral damage.”

“I’m going to the quinjet to see if I can pull up real-time satellite imagery,” Natasha announced. “The rest of you should get ready to move out.”

Steve and Stark returned from the barn a few minutes later, Stark still looking sulky, but he perked up immediately when Sam brought them up to speed. The whole team crowded into the quinjet to examine the satellite images Natasha had managed to collect.

“And we think all of this is Hydra?” Bruce asked, pointing at the group of vehicles approaching the coordinates of the twin’s hometown.

“That, those, and these, too,” Natasha replied, pointing to two other images. “They’re bringing in enough equipment to reduce the whole area to a wasteland in a matter of hours.”

“How fast can we get there?” Steve demanded.

“If we push the jet as far as we can, with the fuel we have left,” Clint did a mental calculation. “Seven hours. Six, if we’ve got a tailwind. But we’ll be using all the fuel we have left. We won’t have anything left for a return trip.”

“We’ll worry about that later,” Steve said firmly. “We’re leaving in twenty minutes. This is our best chance to get this over with, once and for all.”

They were in the air nineteen minutes later.

XxxXxxX

Loki had tried to convince Darcy to stay in the quinjet the whole flight to Sokovia. Darcy had flatly refused, pointing that if the Stone was present, then she would be needed to counter its effect on anyone Hydra might use it against. All of this was conducted in the First Tongue, which Thor stolidly pretended he couldn’t hear. Darcy won the argument only ten minutes before they landed, and everyone looked annoyed at having to listen to the two of them snap at each other for six and a half hours.

When they broke through the cloud cover, the city was already in flames. Clint cursed as he circled the area, looking for a good place to put the quinjet down. “I’m gonna have to land at the edge of town,” he said. “We’ll hoof it from there.”

“That’s fine, just get us down,” Steve said shortly.

Clint began to take them down and the passengers all rose to their feet, readying themselves to move out the moment the ramp was lowered.

“ _Shit_ ,” Natasha spat. “Everyone hang on, we’ve got incoming!”

The bottom of Darcy’s stomach dropped out and she grabbed at a canvas loop hanging from the ceiling. Loki wrapped an arm around her, hugging her tight to his side. Thor wrapped one hand in the cargo netting and scooped Fenris up around the middle with the other arm, holding the wolf secure. Everyone else braced for impact.

There was a terrific crash and the quinjet lurched drunkenly to the side before falling into a lazy, lopsided spin. The hold filled with acrid smoke, making Darcy’s eyes water. She heard Clint and Natasha yelling, and then Loki, still holding on to her, started to move.

“Grab a hold of Rogers,” Loki yelled into her ear. Darcy blinked her vision free and saw Steve braced against the closed ramp, one hand reaching back to her. Darcy gritted her teeth and leaned as far away from Steve as she could, catching his hand in hers. She saw Steve reach over and grab a hold of Stark, who was in his full Iron Man armor already.

The quinjet began to spin faster, making black spots across Darcy’s watery vision. She could tell they were in free fall, and she swallowed the scream building in her chest. Then there was a wash of magic so strong she could taste it, peppermint and honey, and then the world was yanked out from underneath her.

It took her a moment to realize they had landed because everything was still spinning. Once she determined she was once more on terra firma, she rolled over and threw up her breakfast. She struggled to a partially upright position and looked around. The others were scattered on the ground around her, all of them stirring weakly.

They were on the outskirts of the city, and Darcy could hear gunfire and smell smoke. She flinched when a giant burning ball of fire streaked by overhead. It crashed into the hills about a mile away hard enough to make the ground shake underneath her. She realized belatedly that it had been the quinjet.

Darcy’s brain finally caught up with her. Loki had teleported them, all of them, out of the quinjet and safely onto the ground. She had no idea he could transport that many people at the same time. She twisted around to look for him.

He was lying on his side in the dirt behind her, hunched into a partial ball. Darcy crawled over and rolled him onto his back. His face was a sickly gray color, and there was blood trickling from one nostril. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow and erratic.

“Loki,” Darcy called, patting him on the cheek. “Loki, wake up. Hey! _Loki_ !” When he didn’t wake, Darcy shook him, gently at first, and then harder. “Loki, wake _up_!”

A shadow fell over her and she looked up to find Thor crouching on Loki’s other side. “Loki, you fool,” he muttered. “He’s spent too much magic,” he told Darcy. “I have only seen him like this once before.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Darcy demanded.

“In time, yes,” Thor assured her. “But he will have to sit out this fight. He will be in no condition to do battle.”

Darcy’s eyes pricked with tears at the sudden relief, and she swiped at the blood on Loki’s face with the cuff of her sleeve.

“What the _hell_ was that?” Stark demanded, regaining his feet. “Oh, and I want everyone to know that it is _extremely_ disgusting when I throw up with my faceplate on.”

“Gross,” Clint groaned.

“Loki transported us to safety,” Thor announced. “At great cost to himself.”

“Is he injured?” Bruce asked, getting to his feet and making his unsteady way over. Darcy moved over so Bruce could kneel next to Loki, feeling at his throat for a pulse.

“He’s expended himself too much,” Thor told the doctor. “He will heal, in time, with rest.”

Bruce nodded. “I’ll stay here with him, monitor his condition,” he said, looking over at Steve for confirmation. Steve nodded back and looked up.

“Tony, Sam, seems safe to say they’ve got anti-aircraft weapons. If either of you don’t want to go up…”

“Pish,” Stark replied, waving a hand. “I designed the armor to hold up to more than a couple of missiles.”

“Sam?” Steve asked.

Sam looked up at the sky, chewing his lip nervously. “No, I’ll do it. We’re gonna need the recon now that the jet is gone. Stark can’t be our only eye in the sky.”

“If it gets too hot, I want you out of there,” Steve insisted. “No unnecessary risks.”

“Then what’s the point of being an Avenger?” Sam asked. Steve shook his head at him.

With the quinjet gone, they had no satellite imagery, no body cams, no way of tracking the scepter. They had comms and that was it. Steve looked around at the team for a moment, then nodded to himself. “Okay, you five, focus on eliminating as many Hydra units as you can,” he said, gesturing to Stark, Sam, Natasha,Thor, and Clint. “Get the civilians to safety. Darcy and I are gonna push through, go after the scepter. Dr Banner, you’ll stay here with Loki. If we need you, we’ll call you in.”

Darcy’s breath caught in her throat at the thought of plunging headlong into the battle without Loki around to back her up, but she kept her emotions off her face. She looked over at Fenris, who was hovering nearby. “You stay here with your father. Don’t let anything happen to him,” she told him.

Loki stirred weakly and Darcy looked down in time to see him open his eyes. He had capillaries broken in both eyes, staining the sclera red. He blinked and then squinted up at her. “Darcy,” he slurred, one hand twitching as if he was trying to reach for her. She grabbed his hand and lifted it to her face.

“Hey, babe, I’m right here,” she assured him, mustering up a smile for him.

“Watch your back,” he told her, his voice still slurring.

“I will,” she promised.

“Darce,” Steve called, and she looked back up at him. “You can track it, right? The scepter?” She nodded at him. “Alright. We’d better get a move on.”

Darcy nodded again and leaned down to kiss Loki briefly on the mouth. “Hang in there,” she told him softly. He nodded slightly and his eyes slipped shut again.

“I’ll take good care of him,” Bruce promised her, looking at her over the tops of his glasses.

“Thank you,” Darcy said, her voice almost inaudible. She got to her feet and reluctantly crossed over to join Steve.

He looked down at her. “You ready for this?” he asked kindly.

Darcy took a deep breath and summoned her dagger to her right hand. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Listen, don’t try to engage anyone unless they specifically come after you,” Steve told her. “Stay close to me and just tell me where we’re going. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Darcy said again. “Got it.”

Steve nodded and pulled his shield from its harness on his back, sliding it onto his left arm. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

The next hour passed in a blur to Darcy. She did as she was ordered and stayed right on Steve’s left flank, ducking and dodging and doing her best to avoid actually fighting with anyone. There were civilians trying to get to safety, pinned down by Hydra fire, but they didn’t stop, trusting the others to get the civilians to safety.

Darcy’s senses were on high alert, focused entirely on getting her through the city alive. She had a voice in the back of her head that kept whispering _duck now_ and _three steps to the right_ and _on your left_. She followed the voice’s instructions on reflex, letting what attention she could spare focus on the scepter. She didn’t have the breath to yell directions at Steve, but he was good at staying with her, eliminating the threats around them as they moved. In fact, it got to the point that Darcy wasn’t really paying attention to the enemy soldiers on the ground.

Darcy’s instincts screamed a warning and she turned to scan the area, only belatedly noticing the Hydra agent leveling a Stone-powered rifle directly at her. Too far away for to close with and use her dagger. Darcy glanced toward Steve. He was too far away and distracted by another three agents. She had time to think _shit_ before the agent’s head snapped to the side with a spray of blood and he collapsed.

A man in civilian clothes stepped out from a doorway, holding a pistol outstretched in his right hand. He had a black backpack strapped over his dark blue hoodie and a ballcap crammed over his long, dark hair. He prowled over to the downed Hydra agent and stooped down to pick up the Stone-powered rifle. Then he looked up, meeting Darcy’s eye.

Even at this distance Darcy could see his eyes were steel-gray and completely void of emotion. He had about two weeks of stubble on his jaw and he reached up with his gloved left hand to tug on his hat brim in Darcy’s direction. Then he disappeared again into the chaos.

Darcy shook herself and turned back to Steve and the job at hand. She had a feeling, though, that she was going to see that man again, and soon.


	12. I'm Taking A Stand To Escape What's Inside Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really wanted to get this out over the weekend. It was, like, super dead at work on Saturday because nothing happens on Saturday and on Sunday it was dead because of the Super Bowl (until the two disturbances that happened right after the Super Bowl ended and then we just had a bunch of drunk people). But alas I was distracted because I was looking at houses for sale on the internet. Because I am now in the market for a house of my own! I never thought I would get to the point where I would buy my own house, but hey, that's apparently what adults do. I'm a lot closer to thirty than I would like to think about... Anyway, this chapter was brought to you by The Civil Wars and lots of vanilla vodka. Enjoy!

The closer they got to the scepter, the stronger the feeling became. The call of the Stone was seductive, whispering promises of power in Darcy’s mind. If she had been anyone other than a norn, it might have worked. But all Darcy could think of was the broken, jagged remains of Clint’s and Erik’s minds after they had been exposed to the Stone.

 

They were less than a mile from the Stone’s location when they got surrounded by Hydra foot soldiers and three armored trucks with mounted machine guns. Steve took a step backwards to shield Darcy as best he could, looking around for a way out.

 

Darcy scanned the enemy soldiers, trying to get her breath back. She heard Steve mutter something under his breath and then say, “Uh, Tony, we could use a little help.”

 

_ “Sorry, Cap, tied up at the moment,” _ Stark replied, his voice strained.

 

“Shit,” Steve said, looking around.

 

Red energy abruptly surrounded one of the armored trucks, and it skidded sideways in a wide arc, wiping out a good third of the foot soldiers before slamming into another of the trucks, crushing both of them into a single, crumpled mess of metal.

 

The Hydra agents cried warnings to each other, turning to try to pinpoint the new attacker. Steve took the opportunity to take out the third armored truck while Darcy ducked behind a burned-out car, reaching out with her senses to confirm what she suspected.

 

Yes, there she was. Wanda Maximoff strode fearlessly down the street towards the Hydra soldiers, glowing red energy surrounding her hands as she gestured, sending the enemy flying off their feet into buildings or each other. Within moments she and Steve decimated the Hydra soldiers.

 

Wanda stood in the street several yards away from Steve, hands down at her side. Darcy stepped out from cover and walked over to join Steve. Wanda met her gaze with her chin raised and shoulders square. “You came to fight Hydra,” the girl observed.

 

“Of course we did,” Darcy replied. “That’s our job.”

 

Wanda nodded slowly, lips pressed together. “You are going after the scepter, yes?”

 

“Yes,” Darcy said before Steve could say anything. He sighed and shifted his weight, but didn’t chastise Darcy for her openness.

 

“I’ll help you,” Wanda said firmly. “My brother is with your friends, getting our people to safety. But the scepter, if we take that from Hydra, then we will have truly won, and Hydra can’t hurt anyone else the way they hurt us.”

 

“Darce?” Steve asked quietly.

 

“I trust her,” Darcy replied instantly.

 

“Okay,” Steve said with a shrug.

 

Wanda walked towards them, stopping again when she was a few feet away. “What you showed me,” she told Darcy. “I don’t want that to happen. If I help you, will I stop that?”

 

“I think so,” Darcy answered. “If we can get the Mind Stone, keep anyone from using it ever again, I’m pretty sure none of that other stuff will happen.”

 

Wanda took a deep breath. “Then let’s do this.”

 

The scepter was being held in an old military base on the north side of the city. “This place has been empty for years,” Wanda said, frowning at the barricaded front gate from the laundromat they’d taken cover in. “Since the beginning of the Troubles, at least.”

 

“How long has it been since you’ve been back here?” Steve asked her.

 

“A year, a little more,” Wanda replied, looking up at him with worried, hazel eyes.

 

“So they could’ve set up shop anytime in the last twelve months,” Steve said wearily, taking off his helmet to scrub a hand through his sweaty hair. It stuck up in all directions, making him look young and tired and vulnerable. He shoved the helmet back on but left the straps loose.

 

“ _ Bastarzi _ ,” Wanda muttered under her breath.

 

“So… are we thinking, like, stealth attack or something?” Darcy asked.

 

“What would be the point?” Steve replied. “They know we’re coming.”

 

“Yeah, but a frontal assault with three of us?” Darcy pointed out. “I’m not exactly going to be able to contribute much.”

 

Wanda gave her a strange look. “But, your power…” she trailed off uncertainly.

 

“Not exactly combat applicable,” Darcy said. “Big on the seeing the future and the universe and shit. Not so much getting people to stop shooting at you.”

 

“They’re already on high alert,” Steve said brusquely. “Trying to sneak in will just waste time. They’re probably already trying to move the scepter.”

 

Darcy grimaced. “True, but can I point out again the wisdom of attacking a fortified base with  _ three people _ .”

 

“Well, no one ever said he was short on spunk, just brains,” said an unfamiliar voice behind the three.

 

They all whirled around, Wanda raising her hands to gather energy around her fingers, but Steve reached over and grabbed her arm, forcing it down. The man who’d saved Darcy earlier was standing in the back doorway, holding his purloined Stone-powered rifle in the crook of one arm. He’d lost his ballcap, and his disheveled hair hung an inch past his jaw. His gray eyes were fixed on Steve, his expression almost nervous.

 

“Bucky,” Steve breathed, and it sounded as if he was reciting a prayer. “What--how--are you--?”

 

“Slow down there, slugger,” James Buchanan Barnes said with a half smile. “Sounds like you’re having a fit.”

 

Steve swallowed thickly. “You… remember me?” he asked in a very small voice.

 

Bucky’s head twitched to the side, like a tic, and he shrugged one shoulder. “Some. Bits and pieces. Some days more than others. You… used to be smaller?”

 

Steve huffed out a surprised laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I was.”

 

“Oh, my god,” Darcy whispered to herself. “Bucky freakin’  _ Barnes _ .”

 

Wanda leaned toward her. “I don’t understand. Who is..?”

 

“Bucky freakin’ Barnes?” Darcy finished for her in an excited undertone. “Only the most famous World War Two sniper, member of the Howling Commandos, and best friend of Captain America!”

 

“Oh, so an American,” Wanda sniffed dismissively.

 

Darcy stared at her for a moment and then shook her head, turning her attention back to the two men. Steve had taken a couple of steps forward, looking Bucky up and down. “You--you look good, Buck,” he said softly.

 

Bucky raised an eyebrow skeptically. “We here to talk, or we here to kill Hydra?” he asked.

 

Steve laughed again despite himself. “Yeah, we are. You wanna help?”

 

Bucky hefted the gun in his arm. “Didn’t pick this up for nothing.”

 

“Okay,” Steve said, nodding. “Okay. Let’s do this.” He turned around and looked out the window again. “Wanda, can you handle the gate?”

 

“Easy,” she said confidently.

 

“Darce, scepter still in the base?”

 

“Yup,” Darcy confirmed.

 

Steve took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s roll.”

 

They four of them stepped out of the laundromat into the street, walking brazenly towards the front gate. The facility was eerily quiet, no sign of the guards. No one fired at them as they neared the gate. Steve raised his shield and Darcy took cover behind him while Bucky brought his rifle to his shoulder to cover Wanda.

 

Wanda reached out, her hands bathed in red light. She had graceful hands, Darcy noticed. Like a violinist, or a painter. Like Loki. Wanda gestured, and the gate crumpled as if it been punched by a troll. A head popped up at the top of the gate and Bucky fired before the man could get a weapon to bear, falling backwards with his face a charred mess.

 

Wanda gestured again, her fingers clawing as she ripped the gate to shreds. As the pieces of metal screeched their way apart, the Hydra agents behind the gate opened fire. Wanda gasped and stepped back, throwing her hands up, palms out, and a shimmering, red forcefield appeared in front of the four of them.

 

“Nice,” Darcy said.

 

Wanda gave her a smug look. “I learned this from your friend.”

 

“Good job,” Darcy told her.

 

“Wanda, can you hold this?” Steve demanded.

 

“I think so, yes,” Wanda replied, sounding breathless as she held back the barrage of gunfire. “It hurts, so please be quick.”

 

“Let’s go,” Steve said shortly, glancing aside at Bucky, who instinctively moved to his right side, gun held up and ready. Slowly at first, but then gaining their stride, the four of them advanced towards the ruined gate.

 

The Hydra agents foolishly didn’t move as the four of them approached, until they were in the chokepoint caused by the damaged gate. “Now, Wanda!” Steve called, and the forcefield vanished. Wanda lowered her arms with a pained cry, stumbling forward and forcing Darcy to catch her around the waist. Steve and Bucky lunged forward towards the Hydra soldiers.

 

Darcy pulled Wanda to cover behind a part of the gate, watching while Bucky and Steve took out the Hydra agents. They didn’t move in synch with each other, but there seemed to be an awareness of each other. Steve was graceful and efficient, but Bucky was  _ brutal _ . He didn’t hesitate to shoot the agents point-blank, or to smash them in the teeth with the butt of his rifle, or at one point to break one man’s neck with his left hand (the metal hand, Darcy remembered). She should have felt horrified, but… you know…  _ Hydra _ .

 

“Let’s go!” Steve said again, waving at the women.

 

“You good?” Darcy asked Wanda.

 

“I think I will be sore in the morning,” she groaned, rubbing her shoulder.

 

“Remind me to get you some arnica cream later,” Darcy told her, releasing her hold on the other woman and jogging over to Steve.

 

“Where are we going?” Steve asked her. Darcy took a moment to orient herself, and then pointed straight at the front door.

 

“There,” she told him. “It’s in there.”

 

Bucky looked between her and Steve with an unreadable expression. “Are you the handler?” he asked her bluntly.

 

Darcy stared at him for a minute, caught off guard by the question. “No,” she told him slowly. “I just know where we’re going.”

 

Bucky did that head-twitch thing again, looked away, and then back at her. “What is mission objective?” he asked.

 

The three of them all stared at him for a beat. “We--we’re going after a piece of alien technology, Buck,” Steve told him. “Looks like a scepter, glowing blue stone.”

 

Bucky nodded. “Mission objective accepted,” he said in a flat voice, and started stalking towards the building.

 

“Bucky, wait!” Steve called, running to catch up with him.

 

“What is wrong with him?” Wanda demanded of Darcy.

 

“He was tortured and brainwashed by Hydra for seventy years,” Darcy told her, jogging after the men.

 

“ _ Măiculiță _ ,” Wanda said, rooted to the spot for a second before bolting after them.

 

The inside of the facility was eerily quiet, a maze of damp corridors with a silent, red strobe alarm going off overhead. “Where… is everyone?” Wanda asked as they walked cautiously through the building.

 

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Darcy added.

 

“Just stay close,” Steve ordered, glancing aside at Bucky, who was sticking on his right side, his footsteps silent despite his heavy boots. Somewhere ahead of them a door slammed open and the sound of multiple running footsteps came towards them. Steve and Bucky both stopped, crouching as they readied themselves to meet the new threat. 

 

Ahead of them, a group of people appeared around the corner of the corridor, crashing into and shoving off each other as they careened off the walls. They weren’t Hydra, Darcy realized. They were all civilians, and each and every one of them had glowing, crystal blue eyes.

 

Bucky snapped his rifle up, preparing to fire, but Darcy lunged forward, dragging his rifle downwards. Bucky reacted instantly, grabbing Darcy by the throat with his left hand and slamming her to the wall. “Wait!” she yelled, scrabbling uselessly at his arm while he raised the rifle in his right hand. “They’re not Hydra,” she croaked. “They’re being controlled. By the scepter. They’re civilians.”

 

“Shit,” Steve spat. “She’s right, Bucky, let her go.”

 

Bucky released her instantly and Darcy stumbled forward, summoning her staves as she caught her breath. “We need to knock them unconscious,” she told the others just as the frontrunners of the horde  reached them.

 

The Stone-affected Sokovians attacked them with fists and nails and teeth, having been given no weapons by whoever was wielding the scepter. Steve and Bucky tore through most of them, batting them aside with shield and fist and the butt of the rifle. Wanda and Darcy struggled with the few that slipped past the two supersoldiers.

 

Darcy was deeply grateful that Loki had insisted on continuing her combat training over the last two years. She also had another advantage: her most common sparring partner was at least six times stronger than her. Now she was fighting people in her same weight category.

 

Hydra sent the civilians in waves, like shock troops, trying to wear them down. By the third group of civilians, Darcy was breathing hard, sweat dripping into her eyes. Every inch of her body felt bruised and her ribs were aching again, the cracked bones aggravated from being slammed into the wall one too many times.

 

Even Wanda was flagging. Darcy guessed she’d never been in continued combat before, and she was draining the dregs of her powers, especially after trying the energy shield for the first time. Steve and Bucky, of course, looked like they could do this all day. Darcy tried not to hate them for it.

 

They were so close to the scepter now. Darcy could taste the power of the Mind Stone, feel its pervasive presence trying to worm its way into her brain. It was masking the mind of whoever was using it, keeping him (or her) out of Darcy’s reach.

 

Darcy grabbed Steve’s arm, pulling him to a halt. “It’s here,” she told him hoarsely. “Less than fifty feet. Right around that corner.”

 

He looked down at her and nodded. “Okay. Keep an eye out. Don’t let it get close to you.”

 

“Whoever’s using it,” Darcy added harshly. “Kill them.”

 

Steve pressed his lips together and didn’t contradict her. Bucky checked the power level on his rifle and dropped it with a disappointed grunt. He pulled a pistol from under his jacket and flipped the safety off. He and Steve rounded the corner shoulder-to-shoulder, Wanda and Darcy right behind them.

 

At the end of the hallway was a heavy blast door, currently locked open, and a man standing in the doorway, the scepter in one hand. He was tall, with shaved blond hair and a wire-rimmed monocle. At the sight of the four of them, he smirked.

 

“Strucker,” Steve spat, raising his shield to cover both himself and Bucky.

 

“Captain,” Strucker greeted in a German accent. “So kind of you to return our assets. I believe we have much to discuss with Miss Maximoff and Mr Barnes.”

 

“You’re not coming anywhere near them,” Steve snarled, lunging forward.

 

Strucker moved inhumanly fast, dodging Steve’s blow and swinging the scepter around, releasing a blue pulse of energy point-blank into the vibranium disc. The force of the blast slammed Steve into the concrete wall hard enough to crack it.

 

Bucky was on Strucker before Steve had a chance to recover, lashing out at the Hydra operative with his left fist rather than the pistol in his right hand. Strucker deflected the metal arm with the point of the scepter before shoving it into the center of Bucky’s chest.

 

“ _ No! _ ” Darcy screamed, reaching out, but it was too late. The Stone glowed blue, the energy transferring from the scepter to Bucky’s chest and dissipating. Bucky immediately stopped trying to attack Strucker, going still and staring straight ahead.

 

Steve pushed away from the wall, staring at his friend in horror. “Bucky?” he asked weakly.

 

“Kill him,” Strucker snarled, glaring at Steve.

 

Bucky burst into motion, lunging at Steve, kicking and punching, his face twisted in a grimace. Yet he still didn’t use the pistol still clutched in his right hand.

 

Darcy stepped forward, reaching out with her senses towards Bucky’s mind. She had to break the connection, and she had to do it fast, but his mind slipped away from her and she tried again, only for her concentration to break by the sound of running footsteps behind her.

 

She turned around to see a fourth horde of Sokovian civilians tearing down the corridor towards them. Darcy cursed under her breath and turned back to Steve and Bucky just in time to see Strucker duck through the doorway, which began to ponderously slide closed. Steve broke away from Bucky to bolt after Strucker, disappearing through the doorway, Bucky on his heels.

 

“ _ Shit _ ,” Darcy spat.

 

“Go,” Wanda told her, squaring off with the civilians bearing down on them. “I’ll hold them off.”

 

Darcy didn’t stop to question Wanda’s resolve. She darted through the doorway just as it slammed closed behind her, sprinting after Bucky and Steve as fast as her legs could carry her. The short corridor abruptly ended in a large, open room, like a central control area. Bucky caught up with Steve and tore into him again.

 

Darcy saw immediately that Steve was going to lose this fight. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt his friend, but Bucky was doing everything in his power to rip Steve to pieces. Steve had to knock Bucky unconscious to break the Stone’s power over him, but that didn’t look like that was going to happen.

 

Strucker stood off to the side, watching the fight with glittering eyes. Darcy knew better than try to take him on by herself. Her staves were no match for the scepter, and besides, killing him wouldn’t make Bucky stop trying to kill Steve.

 

No, there was only one thing to do. Darcy didn’t have much time. Strucker would try to stop her if he realized what she was doing, so she had to be fast. Darcy dismissed her staves back to her pocket dimension and ran forward just as Bucky kicked Steve away from him. Darcy slipped between the two soldiers and reached up, pressing two fingers to Bucky’s forehead, and pushing through into his mind.

 

_ For the first second, the Stone threatened to overwhelm her. It was deeply embedded in Bucky’s mind, tendrils of sickly yellow-green energy permeating every part of his brain. It clawed and bit and scratched at Darcy, like a rabid animal. She gritted her teeth and pushed back with all her strength. _

 

_ In her mind’s eye she could see Bucky standing, surrounded by darkness, the Mind Stone’s power wrapped around him like a strand of barbed wire, cutting into his skin, spots of blood growing over his clothing. He fought against it with all of his strength, but the harder he fought the tighter it bound him, the more the barbs tore his skin. _

 

_ “Stop,” Darcy told him, stepping closer to him. “Bucky, you need to relax.” _

 

_ He stared at her uncomprehendingly, gray eyes wide with fear. Darcy reached out to touch him and he flinched away from her. “Bucky, I’m here to help you,” she told him gently. “I’m going to get you out of here.” She reached for him again and this time he stilled under her touch, his breathing ragged and uneven. _

 

_ Darcy slipped her fingers under the wire and gripped tight. She gave and experimental tug, trying to pull it away from Bucky’s skin. He grunted in pain and flinched again, but didn’t pull away from her. _

 

_ “I’m sorry,” Darcy told him. She set her heels and pulled with all her strength. The end of the wire pulled free from Bucky and he screamed, animal, inhuman, thrashing mindlessly from the pain. Darcy gritted her teeth and kept pulling. Inch by excruciating inch, the barbed wire pulled free. Darcy wrapped it around her hands and kept yanking. The barbs dug into her palms, making her grip slick with blood, but she didn’t let that stop her. _

 

_ It took an eternity to pull the awful energy away from him, and when the last barb tore free of his skin, the end of the wire lashed back at Darcy, trying to wind its way around her, instead. Darcy stomped her foot down on the end, pinning it in place. It was now wound in two bundles around her hands and she held it as far away from her as possible. _

 

_ Darcy reached deep inside of her, down past Darcy, past Sigyn, down deep into the darkness that she never looked into anymore, and called forth Ragnarok, just a single ounce of that power. It howled forth with a blast of wind that knocked Bucky off his feet. He hit the not-ground and curled up in a tiny ball, protecting his head. _

 

_ Darcy felt Ragnarok batter at her, begging and pleading and demanding to be set free, to bathe the world in darkness and blood and death. “ _ No, _ ” Darcy said firmly, wrestling it down. It growled and fought but she held herself firm, immoveable. Instead, she focused that destructive energy into her hands, into the thorny wire wrapped around them. _

 

_ The wire turned to ashes in an instant, drifting down to join the darkness under Darcy’s feet. The little bit of Ragnarok she’d released raged around her, tearing at her clothes, clawing at her mind. _

 

_ “ _ Set us free _ ,” it whispered to her. “ _ Let us destroy your enemies. Release the storm _.” _

 

_ “ _ Not. Yet, _ ” Darcy gritted out between clenched teeth, and gathered the storm wind back into herself, shoving it back down into her darkness and slamming that door closed. For a moment she imagined herself staring at her reflection in a mirror, but the other her was Sigyn, not Darcy. _

 

_ “You can’t let it out,” Darcy told the norn. _

 

_ “No,” Sigyn agreed. “It is not yet time.” _

 

_ “Hold it back,” Darcy instructed. _

 

_ Sigyn nodded. “I will do my best.” _

 

Darcy was struck across the face and fell backwards off her feet, landing painfully on her back, her head cracking against the hard floor. Her vision swam in and out. She rolled over, trying to push herself upright. She blinked to clear her vision and saw Bucky collapse beside her, clutching his head and screaming that same, inhuman scream.

 

Steve stepped over Darcy on his way over to Strucker, who fired off another blast of Stone energy at the infuriated Captain. He never stood a chance. Darcy watched through watering, blurry eyes as Steve smashed the edge of his shield into the side of Strucker’s head, caving his skull in.

 

It was over. They had the scepter. Mission accomplished. Darcy lowered her head to the cold floor and closed her eyes, finally letting herself lose consciousness.

 

XxxXxxX

 

Darcy’s head was killing her. Come to think of it, she just plain hurt all over. But mostly her head. And her ribs. And her back. And her mouth was dry as cotton. She opened her eyes and immediately screwed them closed again against the harsh brightness of fluorescent light above her. She groaned and lifted a hand to rub at her eyes.

 

“Darcy?”

 

At the sound of the hoarse, raspy voice next to her, Darcy’s eyes snapped open again and she turned her head to see Loki leaning towards her. He was sitting in a cheap plastic chair next to her bed, still wearing his armor. His face was still ashen, his eyes still splotchy with blood, but he didn’t look quite as much like death warmed over.

 

“How do you feel?” he asked, reaching over to take her hand in his, lifting it so he could place a kiss on the back of it, then turning it over so he could kiss her palm.

 

“Like shit,” Darcy replied roughly. “How ‘bout you?”

 

“Much the same,” Loki admitted.

 

Darcy looked around. They were in a small room with white plaster walls, a window with bars over it, and stained ceiling tiles. She was lying on a narrow bed with scratchy white sheets and a cheap, woven blanket. “Where are we?”

 

“A hospital,” Loki told her. “I believe the town is called Râuverde.”

 

Darcy screwed up her face for a moment. “Still in Sokovia?”

 

“Yes,” Loki confirmed. “We only dared move the two of you to the next town over.”

 

Darcy shoved herself upright with her free hand. “Bucky!” she exclaimed. “Is he--is he okay?”

 

“He has not woken yet,” Loki said. “But physically he is uninjured.”

 

“I have to see him,” Darcy demanded, flinging the bed coverings back despite her migraine. She discovered she was wearing nothing but an examination gown.

 

“No,” Loki said firmly, pulling the blanket and sheets back. “You need to rest. You have a concussion and your ribs are worse than they were.”

 

“Screw that,” Darcy retorted, struggling with him for a moment. “I need to see Bucky.”

 

Loki put his hand on her side and pressed hard. Darcy yelped in pain and flinched away from him. “You are injured,” he told her pointedly. “You need to  _ rest _ .”

 

Darcy glared at him but stopped fighting him because even as drained as he was he was still several times stronger than her and he could probably tie her down to the bed or something if she pushed the matter.

 

Once he was sure she wasn’t going to try to get up again, Loki sat back and summoned his medical kit to his lap, opening the lid and poking through it for a moment. He pulled out a glass vial of small, dissolvable tablets and held on out to her. Still annoyed at him, Darcy stuck her tongue out. Not deterred in the slightest, Loki merely placed the tablet on her tongue and smirked at her.

 

Darcy grimaced at the bitter taste but said nothing. She jumped when there was a knock on the door and it cracked open far enough so Wanda could poke her head through. “You’re awake!” the Sokovian young woman said, pushing the door fully open.

 

Fenris slipped past Wanda and jumped up onto the bed, snuffling in Darcy’s face happily. Darcy laughed despite herself and scrubbed her hands up and down his neck until he plopped down over her lap with a happy sigh.

 

“How are you doing?” Wanda asked shyly, stepping into the room. “The doctors said you hit your head very hard.”

 

“I’ll live,” Darcy told her. “How about you?”

 

“Tired,” Wanda admitted. “Sore. But I think I am going to be okay.” She hugged herself nervously, her gaze sliding over to Loki, who leaned back in his chair with one eyebrow raised. Wanda looked back at Darcy. “Thank you,” she said softly. “For everything you did.”

 

“Likewise,” Darcy told her. She could feel the painkillers kick in, easing the pain in her head and ribs. “I don’t think we would have made it out of there without you.”

 

Wanda bobbed her head and fell silent, hesitating visibly.

 

“So,” Darcy said slowly. “What are you going to do now?”

 

Wanda took a deep breath. “Now that Hydra is gone, I think Sokovia can begin to heal,” she said with a faint smile. “It will take a lot of work, though.”

 

“Good thing you have superpowers,” Darcy replied, matching her smile.

 

Wanda nodded. “Yes.” She turned to leave and looked back at the both of them. “Thank you,” she said again, and slipped out of the room.

 

Darcy heaved a deep sigh and leaned back against the pillows, reaching up to massage her forehead. “Does this mean we can go home?” she asked with her eyes closed.

 

“Yes,” Loki said firmly. “You and Fenris will be returning home at the soonest opportunity.”

 

Darcy lowered her hand and looked over at him. “Not you?” she asked.

 

“Thor and I will be taking the Mind Stone to Asgard,” Loki said grimly. “To bury it deep in Odin’s treasure room.”

 

“Hmm,” Darcy said. “Good plan.”

 

There was another knock on the door and it opened to reveal Clint this time. “Hey, kid,” he said with a lopsided grin. “You hanging in there?”

 

Darcy gave him a mock-glare. “No. I hurt all fucking over. What do you want?”

 

Clint hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “Barnes is awake. He’s asking for you.”

 

Darcy pushed herself upright again. “He is?” she asked excitedly.

 

Loki sighed deeply and got to his feet, shooing Fenris off Darcy’s lap. He peeled back the coverlet and scooped Darcy bodily up into his arms. Fenris jumped down from the bed as Loki turned toward Clint. “Lead the way,” he said resignedly.

 

When they stepped out into the hall, Darcy realized that the hospital was  _ packed _ . There were so many patients that some were lying on gurneys parked in the hallways. Darcy frowned at that. If they were so cramped on space, why had she been given a room to herself?

 

Clint led them to a room just down the hallway, where Thor stood guard by the door. He smiled brightly at Darcy.

 

“Hello, sister,” he greeted. “It is good to see you awake.”

 

“Thanks, bro,” Darcy waved back.

 

Inside the room, Bucky and Steve were standing by the window, their backs to the door. They were very close together, shoulders touching, heads tilted down towards each other, talking in low voices. When Loki pushed the door open, Steve jumped guiltily away from Bucky, whirling around.

 

“Oh,” he said, sounding relieved to see the two of them. “Darce. Hey.”

 

“Hey, Steve,” she greeted. “Bucky. Can I--Can I call you Bucky?”

 

Bucky turned away from the window towards her. “That’s my name,” he said softly, and glanced aside at Steve. “Apparently.”

 

Steve gestured toward the unmade bed. “Geez, Loki, put her down. You look like you’re gonna keel over.”

 

“Hardly,” Loki said dryly, setting Darcy down on the bed and sitting next to her. “I am fine.”

 

“Yeah, ‘cause I’ve never heard  _ that _ before,” Steve said sarcastically.

 

Bucky hunched his shoulders, hands shoved in the pockets of the tatty sweatpants he was wearing. He looked at Steve apprehensively, shooting a glance in Darcy’s direction. “Go on,” Steve encouraged him. “She won’t bite.”

 

“Not unless you ask me to,” Darcy quipped. Loki cleared his throat. “Except no I won’t, because I’m happily married and my husband is scary,” she added.

 

Bucky frowned, looking between the two of them for a moment as if he was trying to figure out if she was serious or not.

 

“Joking,” Darcy assured him.

 

“Oh,” Bucky said uncertainly, and glanced at Steve again. “Thank you,” he finally said, sounding stilted. “For… helping me.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Darcy told him kindly. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

“Not… really,” Bucky said, and his head twitched to the side. “Not okay. Not… yet. Maybe not… ever.” His head twitched again and Steve put his hand on Bucky’s arm. Darcy saw Bucky force himself to still, to not flinch away. Steve must have picked up on it, too, because he pulled his hand away. “Anyway,” Bucky said. “Thank you.”

 

“I was happy to do it,” Darcy assured him.

 

“Well, we mean it,” Steve said. “I don’t know what I woulda done if…” he trailed off. Bucky swallowed uncomfortably and leaned away from Steve, hunching his shoulders even more.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Darcy said quickly. “It’s done, it’s over, it’s all good.”

 

“Yeah,” Steve agreed. “How’s your head?”

 

“Loki gave me fancy Asgardian painkillers so I’m super-duper,” Darcy told him, leaning against Loki’s side. “What next, Cap?”

 

“Well, we’ve already contacted the UN, and they’re sending in disaster relief teams,” Steve replied. “The Sokovian government’s already mobilized to try to keep the peace. The surviving Hydra agents will be extradited for prosecution.”

 

“So we’re done?” Darcy asked hopefully.

 

Steve nodded slowly. “Yeah. I guess we are.” He turned his head to eye Bucky for a moment. “Feels like I’ve been fighting Hydra for so long… S’almost strange, to think it’s over.”

 

“Thank fucking God,” Darcy said heatedly. “About damn time we cut off the last fucking head.”

 

“There will be other threats,” Loki said softly, tilting head to give Steve a shrewd look. “There will always be another battle.”

 

“Maybe,” Steve said non-committedly. “In any case, Tony’s throwing a party when we get back to the Tower. Wants all of us there.”

 

“All of us?” Darcy echoed, pointing at Loki.

 

“All of us,” Steve repeated firmly.

 

“Sounds awesome,” Darcy replied. She surprised herself by yawning widely. “I guess that’s the painkillers kicking in.”

 

“You have a concussion,” Steve reminded her. “You’re not supposed to sleep.”

 

“I will look after her,” Loki said politely, but firmly, and got to his feet. He leaned down to gather Darcy in his arms again. As he turned to leave, he stopped and looked back at Bucky. “Barnes. If you ever wish to… speak. With someone who has similar experiences. I will make myself available.” His voice was stiff but heartfelt, and Bucky gave him a surprised expression.

 

“O--okay,” Bucky said unevenly. Loki nodded back and carried Darcy into the hallway again.

 

“That was sweet of you,” Darcy said into his ear as he carried her back to her room.

 

“It was what you would have wanted me to do,” Loki replied tersely.

 

“Hmm,” Darcy said, tucking her face against his neck. “Love you, babe.”

  
She was asleep before she heard his reply.


	13. All The Things You Had Lost Will Find Their Way To You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13, folks! Some people believe that 13 is an unlucky number. Let's just say that for Loki, today 13 is not good for him *evil laughter*

Loki woke to loud voices in the hallway. He’d squeezed into the narrow bed behind Darcy, curling protectively around her. It was for efficiency’s sake, of course. He needed the rest to replenish his magic and Darcy needed to be woken every couple of hours. 

 

As he shook his mind free from his doze, he recognized Stark’s voice as one of the two raised. Fantastic. Stark had found something  _ else _ to complain about. Loki considered blocking the noise out and going back to sleep, but knowing Stark, it was likely to turn into a spectacle.

 

With an aggrieved sigh, Loki carefully extricated himself from the bed without waking Darcy and padded silently over to the door, easing it open enough to hear what Stark was on about this time.

 

“...killed my  _ parents _ ,” Stark was saying. “Did you know that? And now you’re just expecting me to be  _ okay _ with this? I would think you, of all people--”

 

“I, of all people  _ what _ , Stark?” Romanoff demanded sharply. Loki raised his eyebrows and pulled the door further open, allowing him to see the combatants. Stark had his back to Loki. Romanoff had her arms crossed over her chest. Her green eyes flicked to Loki and then away again, noting his presence without cataloguing a threat. An interesting development.

 

“He shot you!” Stark exclaimed, gesturing wildly. He had to step aside to let a stressed-looking man in white scrubs push a cart past. “ _ Twice _ !”

 

“You don’t have to remind me, Tony. Trust me, I’m aware,” Romanoff replied sarcastically. “What I’m saying is, you don’t have the whole picture.”

 

“I don’t need the whole picture,” Stark snapped. “He performed  _ dozens _ of assassinations, including my parents,  _ and  _ freakin’ _ JFK _ !”

 

Romanoff held up a hand. “First of all, we have not confirmed that Kennedy was a Winter Soldier hit,” she said firmly. “And two, what part of ‘brainwashing and memory erasing’ did you not understand?”

 

“There’s no empirical evidence that it’s even  _ possible _ to erase someone’s memory in a targeted manner,” Stark retorted. “And outside of the scepter, what sort of technology did Hydra have that’s capable of brainwashing?”

 

Romanoff’s expression went cold. “Torture,” she said in an icy voice. “Deprivation. Behavioral conditioning. Electrocortical stimulation.  _ Torture _ .”

 

“Show me the records that any of that actually happened to Barnes,” Stark demanded.

 

Loki stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind him, moving quietly enough that Stark still did not notice him. “If I may,” he said, raising his voice just loud enough to be heard over the hum of activity in the hospital.

 

Stark cursed and spun around, taking a full step backward and forcing Romanoff to sidestep out of his way. “Not cool, dude,” Stark said, glaring at Loki. “I’m gonna get a bell and staple it to you or something.”

 

Loki raised an eyebrow challengingly. “If I may,” he said again. “Point out the extreme discrepancy in reasoning to assume that Barnes, who served in the American Army, who was and is a friend and blood-brother to Captain Rogers, would willingly serve Hydra, the same organization he was presumed killed while fighting. Furthermore, would his character, as established before his presumed death, be in keeping with someone who  _ would _ defect to Hydra?”

 

Stark stared at Loki blankly for several seconds while Natasha gave him an impressed look. Stark shook his head and waved a hand in front of his face. “Why do you even  _ care _ ?” he demanded. “This has nothing to do with you.”

 

“Barnes suffered much the same treatment as I did,” Loki pointed out blandly. “Though I was fortunate enough to keep my memories.”

 

“Yeah, but you had your mind taken over by  _ magic _ ,” Stark argued. “Barnes doesn’t have that excuse.”

 

“In my experience, torture can be an effective motivator for even those of my kind,” Loki said. “Find the method that breaks a man down to nothing, and you can build him back in whatever image you desire.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sure  _ you _ have plenty of experience with that,” Stark muttered, still glaring at Loki. 

 

The door behind Loki was yanked open. “Why are you so  _ loud _ ?” Darcy demanded irately.

 

“Oh, did we disturb you?” Stark asked archly. “I’m sorry. It’s just apparently everyone is okay with the Winter Soldier getting off  _ scot free _ !”

 

“Keep your voice  _ down _ ,” Romanoff hissed at him.

 

Loki half turned to look at his wife, who glared at Stark from blood-shot eyes. “Seriously, Stark, who pissed in your cornflakes?”

 

“You did, as a matter of fact,” Stark retorted, jabbing a finger at Darcy. “By somehow convincing Steve to  _ order _ me to shut down Ultron. Ordered  _ me _ . He may be the leader of this social experiment we call the Avengers, but that does not give him the right to throw orders around. And I checked every line of code in Ultron. There is  _ no _ indication that it is going to go wrong.  _ None _ . So congratulations, Lewis. You just scrapped our best chance for world peace.”

 

Before Loki could speak in Darcy’s defense, his wife stepped forward and poked Stark hard in the chest. “You. Are. A. Giant. Raging.  _ Asshole _ ,” she snarled at him with each poke, forcing him to step backwards. As angry as he was with her at the moment, Stark still had the decency not to physically lay hands on Darcy, seeing as she was injured. Instead, he dodged behind Romanoff, putting the red haired mortal between them. 

 

“Why are you so fundamentally incapable of admitting that you’re  _ wrong _ ?” Darcy continued, not attempting to pursue Stark, much to Romanoff’s apparent relief. “It  _ happens _ . People are wrong all the time. I can see the goddamn future and sometimes  _ I’m _ wrong. It is not the end of the world. We make mistakes, we learn from them. I get it. You worked hard on Ultron. It sucks. But you know what? I’ve made some pretty spectacular mistakes, too.”

 

Darcy gestured theatrically at Loki. “I managed to  _ completely _ miss the fact that Loki was being mind-controlled.  _ After reading his mind _ . My  _ sister _ was trying to end the whole damn universe and I missed  _ every goddamn sign _ . I managed to strand the two of us  _ sixty-six years in the past _ . Shit happens, Stark. Get over it!”

 

“Get over it?” Stark demanded in disbelief. “Excuse me,  _ how _ much experience do you have in creating artificial intelligences? Because last time I checked, I was the only one in the  _ world _ who has managed to code a real one. Which means if anyone is going to figure out Ultron is wrong, it’s  _ me _ . Not some poli-sci coed whose full-time job is a  _ housewife _ .”

 

Darcy’s face went bloodless and white, her fists clenching. While Loki would have enjoyed seeing his wife take Stark to pieces, he was fairly certain she would regret it later. So he stepped forward, facing Darcy, putting one hand on her shoulder and turning her away from Stark.

 

“He is not worth the shadow on your conscience, beloved,” Loki told her in the First Tongue. “You know you will regret harming him.”

 

“But it will feel really good,” Darcy snarled with murder in her eyes.

 

“That was out of line,” Romanoff told Stark flatly. “You have been trying to pick a fight with Darcy and Loki since they joined this mission and you have gone too far. They have done nothing but  _ help _ us. You just can’t let the past go.” She put a hand in the square of Stark’s chest and pushed him backwards. “And Darcy is right. You are being a raging asshole and you have  _ no _ excuse. You and I are going to take a walk. I’m going to talk, you’re going to keep your mouth shut. And when we’re done, you’re going to reevaluate your position on pretty much everything. Got it?”

 

Stark opened his mouth but Romanoff gave him a deadly look. “Mouth. Shut,” she growled. Stark closed his mouth hard enough that his teeth clacked together and looked apprehensive. Romanoff grabbed a handful of his shirt and hauled him down the corridor.

 

Darcy took a deep breath and leaned against Loki abruptly, as if all the strength had fled her body. Loki caught her easily, cradling her head against his chest. “Are you well?” he asked, still in the First Tongue.

 

Darcy nodded, her face pressed into his shirt. “I don’t understand,” she said in muffled English. “I actually like Stark before… well…  _ you _ . He was cool. And then everything happened, and now he’s a dick all the time.”

 

“Well, clearly I am to blame for that,” Loki replied, switching back to Allspeak. “You have been tainted by my supposed crimes.”

 

“Maybe I should use the norn voice on him and see how  _ he _ likes being mind-controlled,” she muttered. She drew her arms up between them so she could cuddle as close to him as possible.

 

Loki considered that for a moment. “That… may not be such a bad idea,” he said thoughtfully.

 

“Don’t be an enabler, it  _ so  _ is a bad idea,” Darcy told him, pulling away so she could slap ineffectually at his bicep. “I’m gonna go lay down again. Come spoon me.”

 

Loki let himself be tugged back into the hospital room.

  
  


XxxXxxX

 

Darcy never did hear what Natasha said to Stark, or his reaction to it, but apparently it was effective, because when they gathered for the trip to the nearest airport, Stark muttered an apology to the floor at Darcy’s feet. She decided to accept it, despite how much his words stung. Stark also had no other objections to Bucky’s presence, much to Steve’s obvious relief.

 

It was three in the morning when they arrived back in New York, and Darcy wasn’t sure what day it was or when was the last time she’d showered. For efficiency’s sake, she and Loki showered together before crashing out, Fenris tucked under the blankets between them.

 

Darcy woke again around noon to find a note from Loki on the nightstand.  _ F and I with Thor --L _ , it read. It was good to see them share some bonding time, Darcy thought. Loki and Thor did not see each other nearly as often as either of them would like.

 

After getting dressed, texting her mother and receiving seventeen pictures of her children in reply, Darcy left the suite and wandered aimlessly around the tower. It was bustling with activity in preparation for Stark’s “We Defeated Hydra” party, and it was easy for Darcy to slip through unnoticed. She found herself on the topmost R&D floor, where Jane’s lab was housed.

 

Darcy passed the door to Jane’s lab without stopping until she came to a locked steel-and-glass door that had a hazardous material placard on it and a paper sign that read “Mad Scientist At Work. Enter At Your Own Risk.”

 

“Jarvis, whose lab is this?” Darcy asked, pressing her fingertips to the door.

 

“That would be Sir’s primary laboratory,” Jarvis replied promptly.

 

“Is he in there?” Darcy pressed.

 

“He is, indeed.”

 

“Can I come in?”

 

There was a pause, and then the door clicked. Darcy pushed experimentally. The door swung open. The lab beyond was dimly lit, illuminated only by a few spotlights and a shifting orange glow. Darcy stepped into the lab and looked around.

 

There were several work benches covered with spare parts and tools, three disassembled car engines, what appeared to be one and a half Ironman suits, and Stark himself, sitting in a rolling chair, staring broodily at a holographic image in front of him.

 

The image was a large globe made of rapidly-cycling orange symbols that Darcy didn’t recognize as being a part of any alphabet on earth. She guessed the symbols had meaning to Stark, because he watched them as if they were telling him a melancholy story.

 

He didn’t look up as she approached him. Darcy stood a respectful distance away, watching the shifting symbols. It was mesmerizing, in a certain way. Stark abruptly shifted in his chair and straightened.

 

“I don’t… have children,” he said quietly, still not looking at Darcy. “Never wanted any. Wouldn’t know what to do with them. What I have… are my creations. My bots… Ironman… even Jarvis, I guess. I just pour everything I have into the things I make. It’s not exactly fair to Pepper, but she knew what she was getting into.” 

 

Darcy still said nothing, letting Stark say everything he needed to get out. 

 

“So… Ultron…” Stark sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ultron was my baby. My greatest creation. Supposed to be my legacy. You know, the good I could leave behind. Maybe make up for all the bad. So this… this isn’t easy for me.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Darcy offered. “Trust me, I know what it’s like to lose something you care about.”

 

Stark finally looked at her. “You do, don’t you?” he murmured. “Romanoff told me. Things. She told me you--uh--that you miscarried, when you went up against your sister. I… I didn’t know that.”

 

Darcy nodded, her lips pressed together. “Yeah,” she said in a neutral voice. “It wasn’t easy.”

 

“I can’t even imagine what that would be like,” Stark said, his gaze drawn back towards the glowing orange globe. “I mean, it’s one thing to lose an AI, or a suit, but an actual pregnancy?” He shrugged a shoulder. 

 

Darcy followed his gaze to the hologram and realization finally clicked. “Is this it?” she asked, pointing. “This is Ultron?”

 

“Yup,” Stark said wearily. “Completed but not activated. Just waiting for one simple command to go online.”

 

Darcy felt herself go very still, her skin suddenly feeling very cold. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

 

Stark laughed without humor. “Romanoff asked me… she asked me what was more important: the team, or Ultron? She’s pretty convinced you’re right. That Ultron will tear us apart.”

 

“Not just as a team,” Darcy said softly. “Clint and Sam will be imprisoned, Steve will be exiled, and you will be alone.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Stark said dully. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Alone. You know, I used to think I was better alone. That alone… protected me somehow. If I didn’t let anyone close, then I’d never lose anyone, right? And then I realized I was an idiot and I’d had people all along. Pep, Rhodey, Happy. Now the team.”

 

He squinted at the Ultron program. “This?” he gestured towards the hologram. “This is not worth that.” He leaned forward and stabbed a button on the display with one finger. The hologram fragmented and began to slowly wink out of existence, like a galaxy of stars dying a lonely death. Once the hologram was completely gone, he swiveled to fully face Darcy. “Happy?” he challenged.

 

Darcy scraped her teeth over her lower lip. “Not really,” she admitted. “Relieved, certainly. But I never wanted to hurt you.”

 

“No, you didn’t,” Stark said thoughtfully. He eyed her for a moment. “You know, I found something, a few years back. Buried deep in SI’s SOPs. Something called a Lewis Protocol. You familiar with it?”

 

Darcy laughed, surprised. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m familiar.”

 

“Apparently my dad liked you,” Stark went on. “And Loki, shockingly enough.” He leaned back. “You saved his life.”

 

“We were in the right place at the right time,” Darcy replied, shrugging. “We just did what anyone would have done.”

 

“Yeah,” Stark said flatly. He pushed to his feet and walked over to stand directly in front of her. He offered his hand, palm tilted upwards. “Hi. I’m Tony. We kinda got off to a rough start.”

 

Darcy stared at his hand for a moment before dragging her eyes up to his face. She took his hand and shook firmly. “Hi. I’m Darcy,” she said with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

 

“So, I’m having this little get together tonight,” Stark-- _ Tony _ \-- went on. “Nothing big, just me and about a hundred and twenty of my closest friends. Thought you and that husband of yours might wanna show up.”

 

Darcy’s smile grew. “Yeah. That sounds like fun.”

 

Tony smiled back at her. “Great. If you need something to wear, just let Jarvis know, and he’ll talk to Pepper’s personal shoppers.”

 

“I appreciate it,” Darcy replied.

 

“Okay.” Tony slapped his hands together and rubbed them. “Now that we’ve gotten all that horrible emotional shit over with, I need to disassemble an engine so I can feel manly again. Lewis, no offence, but please get lost.”

 

“No problemo,” Darcy said, saluting him with two fingers. “Peace.” She left the laboratory with a much lighter step than when she’d gone in, and went to look for Loki.

 

XxxXxxX

 

As parties went, Stark’s was… not terrible. A banquet for the royal court of Asgard could easily involve two or three thousand people. There were less than two hundred in the large, open chamber Stark had dubbed the “party hall.” The food was plentiful, the drink flowed freely, and for the most part everyone avoided approaching Loki.

 

That was most likely because he was wearing a charm he’d created specifically for this event, that discouraged people from making eye contact with him. Of course, it did not work on people who had a personal connection with him, so twice already Thor had dragged him by the arm over to join a conversation, insisting he corroborate whatever fanciful tale Thor was spinning.

 

For now, though, Loki was alone, standing in a corner nursing a silver flask of Asgardian  _ mjoðr _ . He could see the entire chamber from where he stood, including Darcy, who sat at the bar conversing with Jane and Romanoff, and Fenris, who was sitting at Barton’s feet, catching morsels of food in his mouth that the mortal tossed at him, much to the amusement of Wilson and Stark’s friend Rhodes.

 

Thor was regaling a group of aging warriors with yet another tale of his victories, which Loki had no desire to join in. He was only here on Darcy’s request. Apparently she and Stark had come to an understanding, and she was convinced that Stark had amended his ways. So far Stark had merely nodded at Loki when they first arrived, and then had spent the rest of the evening ignoring him.

 

An improvement, surely.

 

Loki’s attention was caught when Rogers began to make his way through the crowd toward him. Barnes was notably not present, as he did not feel comfortable in a large crowd of strangers, according to Rogers. Loki sighed internally but did not make an attempt to escape.

 

“Darcy is by the bar, if you are looking for her,” he said when Rogers reached him.

 

“I know,” Rogers said mildly, leaning his back against the wall so he could keep the whole chamber in his sights. “Not looking for her.”

 

“I see,” Loki said, eying the mortal sidelong. After a moment’s consideration, he offered Rogers his flask. Rogers glanced down at it and then back up at Loki’s face, his expression puzzled. Loki didn’t reply, only shaking the flask back and forth slightly.

 

Rogers took it and slowly raised it to his lips before taking a sip. His eyes widened and he gave Loki a surprised look. “I understand that human intoxicants are not strong enough for you,” Loki said. “But that may just do the trick.”

 

“What is it?” Roger’s asked, raising the flask again to wave it under his nose.

 

“ _ Mjoðr _ ,” Loki explained. “Honey mead. Traditionally the drink of poets and artists. Most warriors, such as Thor, prefer  _ ọl _ , which is bitter, and brewed from hops and apples.”

 

“Yeah, Thor offered me some of that earlier,” Rogers said, reluctantly handing the flask back. “Not really a fan.”

 

Loki shrugged and took a drink from the flask himself. “How is Barnes?” he asked after a moment’s silence.

 

Rogers sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “He’s… quiet. But he’s good. I think. He doesn’t really say much.”

 

“I imagine not,” Loki said dryly. “After I was freed from Skuld, I could barely stand to be around anyone, either.” As soon as the words left his mouth he cringed inwardly. Apparently the  _ mjoðr _ had loosened his tongue more than he’d realized.

 

Rogers gave him a sharp look, then narrowed his eyes. “What was that like?” he asked quietly. “Waking up… and being yourself again?”

 

Loki scowled. He could easily tell Rogers to catch shadows but the unfortunate truth was that he respected the mortal.  _ Liked _ him, even. And he knew that Rogers wasn’t asking from morbid curiosity, but seeking something that could help Barnes.

 

“I wasn’t,” Loki replied at length.

 

Rogers blinked. “You weren’t what?” he asked blankly.

 

“Myself,” Loki explained. “Darcy was forced to release Ragnarok in order to stop Skuld, and to bind that power again, I sacrificed my life. When I was… resurrected, if you will, I was badly affected by Ragnarok. I often could not tell the difference between past and present, or real and false. I was comatose for several days simply trying to remember who I was.”

 

Rogers watched him for a long moment. “How’d you do it? Bring yourself back?”

 

Loki stared hard at the flask in his hand. It was made of silver, with ivory inserts in the shape of serpents, intertwining in intricate patterns. He had made it himself as a young man, while he was learning the craft of metalwork.

 

“The people who cared for me at the time, the disír, I owed them a debt, for taking me in,” Loki said softly. “I knew, in order to fulfil that debt, I had to be at least partially functional. So I forced myself to be. Because  _ I _ chose to be.” He looked up at Rogers. “Then Darcy was there. And if she could have healed me through sheer force of will, she would have. But it was not for her to decide. It was my choice. And it must be his.”

 

Rogers startled and began to protest, but his words died before they left his mouth. He sighed and hunched his shoulders. “I know that he’s… different,” he said at length. “I know that he’s changed. After everything that’s happened, how can he not be? But I still expect him to be the same old Bucky, and I feel horrible when he’s not.”

 

“He needs time,” Loki told him, and handed the flask back over. Rogers took it with a humorless snort and took a long pull.

 

“A word of advice,” Loki went on, accepting the flask back. “One I’ve oft repeated to Darcy. You cannot fight every battle, nor slay every dragon. Not everything is your duty to prevent.”

 

“I’ve heard that before,” Rogers muttered.

 

“Yes, well, I’ve noticed that you and Darcy are much alike,” Loki commented. “If so, you will, no doubt, hear it again.”

 

Rogers turned his head to examine Loki searchingly. “You know, you’re not at all what I expected,” he said.

 

“I strive to be what  _ no one _ expects,” Loki returned with a mysterious smile.

 

Much to Loki’s relief, the vast majority of the guests departed within a few hours, trickling out in groups until all that remained were the Avengers, Darcy, and himself. Once it was deemed safe to do so, Rogers went to fetch Barnes, or at least to see if he wanted to join them.

 

“It’s a trick,” Barton protested, spinning a thin, wooden baton between his fingers. He used it to point to Mjolnir, which was on the couch next to Thor. “It’s got to be. ‘Whosoever be worthy?’ That’s a load of crock.”

 

“Then by all means,” Thor said, picking up the hammer and placing it handle up on the glass table in front of them. He gestured magnanimously.

 

“Don’t be a jerk, Thor,” Darcy spoke up from where she was snuggled against Loki’s side. Her shoes were on the floor in front of them, her legs tucked up underneath her. “You’re not telling them the whole story.”

 

“Do enlighten us,” Stark said, leaning forward, dark eyes glittering with interest.

 

Darcy waved a hand vaguely. “It’s a matter of circumstances. It’s not ‘Are you worthy all the time?’ but more like ‘Do you have worthy intentions?’ None of you would be able to pick Mjolnir up now because your only intention is to show off.”

 

Loki nudged Darcy gently in the side. “Demonstrate,  _ elskede _ ,” he prompted.

 

Darcy sighed explosively and got to her feet, walking over to the table. She wrapped her small hand around Mjolnir’s handle and heaved the hammer up into the air. “See?” she said, before mock-swinging it in Barton’s direction.

 

“Okay, then, what is  _ your _ intention right now?” Romanoff challenged.

 

“I am a norn,” Darcy said with a haughty sniff. “I get to cheat.”

 

Rogers returned at that moment, Barnes trailing slightly behind. Everyone went silent, staring at the former assassin, except Darcy. She waited until the two men got close enough, then called, “Bucky, catch!” and tossed Mjolnir at him.

 

Barnes reacted instantly, easily catching the hammer by the handle with his left hand.

 

“Son of a  _ bitch _ ,” Wilson muttered.

 

Rogers stared down at the hammer in Barnes’ hand, his mouth open. Stark threw his hands up in the air. “Okay!” he said loudly. “I’m convinced! He’s innocent. I get it!”

 

Barnes looked around at them nervously. “What… what is going on?” he whispered at Rogers.

 

“Nothing,” Rogers said quickly. “You can--uh--you can put that down now.”

 

Darcy walked over to Barnes and took the hammer from him. “Congratulations,” she told him kindly. “You’re worthy.”

 

He blinked at her for a moment. “Worthy of what?”

 

“Just worthy,” she said with a smile. She turned and put the hammer once more on the table before reclaiming her seat next to Loki.

 

“What about you?” Banner asked, staring hard at Loki. “Have you ever wielded Mjolnir?”

 

“He has, several times,” Thor boasted. “And he was quite skilled at it, as well. But he was not fond of it.”

 

“That was before the Allfather placed his magic on it,” Loki said tightly, curling his arm around Darcy’s shoulders. “And it is a boorish weapon. There is no subtlety in it.”

 

“Which makes it perfect for Thor,” Jane piped up, swirling the pink liquid in her glass. Thor turned to give her a hurt expression. “What?” she protested. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. But you know, with the lightning… and the thunder… honey, you’re not exactly subtle.”

 

“Who needs subtle, anyway?” Stark cut in. “You do this job, subtle isn’t exactly gonna cut it. You gotta have the flash, the image. It’s what people want in a superhero.”

 

“Not that anyone’s saying you’re not a hero,” Rogers said quickly, looking apologetically over at Loki.

 

Loki snorted derisively. “I am  _ not _ a hero,” he said firmly. “I am the Trickster, remember?”

 

“I always like the trickster characters,” Romanoff said boldly, staring unblinkingly at Loki. “They always had their own agendas. Made their own ways.”

 

Darcy nuzzled Loki’s shoulder sleepily. “I don’t care what you say,” she mumbled. “You’re  _ my _ hero.”

 

“And you have had too much to drink,” Loki told her.

 

“ _ Still _ ,” she insisted.

 

“You think yourself heroes?” mocked a female voice from the other side of the room. Loki was on his feet in an instant, leaving Darcy to flop over awkwardly on the couch.

 

Hela stood in front of the elevator, holding the scepter in one hand. Her black hair was twisted into multiple braids, strung with beads of gold and silver and ivory. She wore the black and gray garments of Niflheim, but unlike her mother’s austere people, she wore rings of gold on every finger, gold studs along the edges of her ears, and chains around her neck dangling bits of bone and feathers.

 

Hela swung the scepter in a wide arc, encompassing the lot of them in the gesture. “ _ None _ of you are heroes,” she spat at them. “You are all so proud, standing on your crumbling pedestals, praising your worthiness while your world burns below you.”

 

“Who the  _ fuck _ are you?” Stark demanded, on his feet as well.

 

Hela laughed, a twisted, humorless sound. “Do you not know? Well, then, what secrets have you been keeping from your friends, Loki? Do you not boast of my achievements as you boast of your other children?”

 

She stalked forward, jabbing the scepter towards Loki. He stepped to the side so he could shield Darcy from the young sorceress. “Did you think I would not find the truth?” she hissed at him. “Did you think you could lie to me? Me! The heir to the Eldest?”

 

“Look, whoever you are, you need to put the scepter down,” Rogers said firmly, stepping forward with his hands raised placatingly. “There’s no need for anyone to get hurt.”

 

Hela tilted her head, her solid black eyes piercing through Rogers. She bared her teeth in a savage smile. “Oh, I am afraid you are wrong. I very much  _ want _ all of you to hurt.” She shifted her gaze to Loki, whose heart sank at the expression in those eyes. 

  
“You only have yourself to blame,  _ father _ ,” she spat at him.


	14. Nobody Can Save Me Now/It's Do Or Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An extra long chapter? Just my rather belated Valentine's Day gift to all my wonderful readers. I love each and every one of you!

Loki stepped forward, holding one hand out towards Hela. “Whatever quarrel you have with me,” he told her gently. “Leave the others out of it. They have nothing to do with this.”

 

“You of all people have no business giving  _ me _ orders,” Hela hissed venomously. 

 

Darcy struggled to her feet, cursing herself for drinking too much during the party. Hela abruptly switched her attention to Darcy, shifting the aim of the scepter. Loki placed himself between them again, shielding Darcy from Hela.

 

“I know all your tricks,  _ norn _ ,” Hela said warningly. “Try something and I will not hesitate.”

 

“Does someone want to explain what the  _ hell _ is going on?” Stark demanded.

 

Hela drew herself up proudly. “I am Hela, heir to Skuld, the Eldest, and I have come to have my vengeance.”

 

“Okay, great, fine, but why did you call him ‘father’?” Stark asked, pointing at Loki.

 

Hela bared her teeth. “One cannot choose the circumstances of one’s birth,” she said in disgust.

 

Darcy blinked, trying to push through the haze of alcohol. Hela had the scepter, but she was just  _ talking _ …? That didn’t seem right. Why wasn’t she trying to attack anyone?

 

Oh. Of course.

 

She was  _ stalling _ .

 

“Hela,” Loki called. “I have told you before. I had nothing to do with Skuld’s death. She was trying to destroy the entire universe.”

 

“And I have told you, she was making a  _ better  _ one,” Hela spat back, gesturing wildly with the scepter.

 

Before anyone could say anything else, Natasha abruptly dove under to coffee table and came up with a handgun. She squeezed off three shots in quick succession.

 

“No!” Loki yelled, gesturing wildly. The gun flew out of Natasha’s hand and went spinning over the floor. Darcy whipped around to check Hela, but the teenager appeared unharmed. An Ironman suit appeared in the doorway behind Hela, and raised a hand to fire a repulsor-blast at her.

 

Hela dodged the blast and spun around, firing a bolt of energy from the scepter at the empty suit. It stumbled back a few steps but held firm.

 

It was Bucky who moved next, vaulting straight over one of the couches and closing the distance with Hela on surprisingly silent feet. He grabbed the scepter with his right hand and drove his left elbow into her face.

 

Hela’s head snapped to the side and she stumbled, almost losing her balance. Bucky was able to rip the scepter from her hands and tossed it behind him. Steve snatched it out of the air and stashed it under a couch before going to join Bucky.

 

Hela turned on Bucky, her left hand forming a complicated gesture before she thrusted her palm into his chest. There was a flash of golden light and then Bucky flew backwards off his feet and skidded over the slick floor, catching up against one of the sofas hard enough to rock the furniture forward. Bucky lay where he’d fallen, dazed.

 

“Bucky!” Steve yelled, and hurried over to check on his friend.

 

Darcy dove across the circle of couches and grabbed Jane’s hand, tugging the other woman to her feet and dragging her behind the couch furthest away from Hela. “Stay down,” she ordered. When she moved to leave, Jane clutched at Darcy’s dress.

 

“What are you going to do?” Jane demanded indignantly. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

 

Darcy straightened enough to peer over the couch. Hela and Loki were squared off now, both of them with hands outstretched. A glowing ball of energy was balanced between them, one half gold and the other green. White lightning flickered around the energy orb, crackling dangerously.

 

Darcy ducked back down and fished around under the couch until she could pull the scepter free. She shoved it into Jane’s hands. “Keep this safe,” she said. “I have to do something.” She got back up, kicked off the heels she’d been wearing for the party, and dodged around the disturbed furniture to reach Bucky and Steve.

 

Darcy dropped down to one knee hard enough to bruise and leaned forward to examine Bucky’s face. She wasn’t medically trained by a long shot, but she knew a few things. Bucky’s eyes were open but unfocused. Steve cradled Bucky’s head between his hands, propped on his thigh.

 

Darcy snapped her fingers in front of Bucky’s nose. “Bucky, can you hear me?” she asked sharply, and then placed two fingers on his forehead, reaching out with her senses to make sure there were no lingering energies from Hela’s attack.

 

“ _ Gotovy soblyudat' _ ,” Bucky replied, sounding out of it.

 

“English, Buck,” Steve prompted, brushing Bucky’s hair back from his face. Bucky blinked up at him a few times.

 

“Steve?” he asked, his voice slurred.

 

“Yeah, I’m here,” Steve said.

 

“You’re taller,” Bucky observed loopily.

 

“Yeah, I am,” Steve told him. He looked up at Darcy. “He okay?”

 

“He will be,” Darcy assured him. “It was just a kinetic spell. He should be fine.” 

 

She turned to observe what was happening with Hela just in time to see Tony’s armor enfold around the inventor and he fired another repulsor blast at Hela. This time it sent the teenager flying, and the globe of energy suspended between her and Loki went wild, hitting a window and disintegrating a hole in the glass with glowing red edges.

 

Hela landed not far away from Thor, who caught her arms and twisted them behind her back, speaking softly to her in one ear. Loki started toward the two of them, Stark and Natasha behind him. Clint appeared from wherever he had been, an arrow nocked on his bow that had a blinking red light on the head.

 

Just as Loki reached Thor and Hela, the girl twisted, barking out a command that Darcy didn’t understand, and Thor fell back with a shout of pain and surprise. Hela leapt to her feet, raising hands that were now tinged sapphire blue, and dodged past Loki faster than he could react. She disappeared behind the couches and emerged a second later, holding the scepter again.

 

Clint let his arrow fly and Hela batted it out of the air with the scepter. It exploded in mid-air, filling the room with smoke. Hela took three steps backwards, and then flung herself out through the hole in the windows. Loki didn’t hesitate, and dove out of the window after her.

 

For a moment Darcy remained frozen where she was, kneeling beside Bucky, staring open-mouthed after her husband. He had just  _ jumped _ out a window. A hundred floors up! Then another thought occurred to her.

 

Jane had had the scepter.

 

“Jane!” Darcy yelled, scrambling to her feet and circling the knot of overturned couches. She found Jane sitting up, leaning against the back of the sole couch still upright, her hand clasped to her neck.

 

“Jane, are you okay?” Darcy demanded.

 

“She caught me off-guard,” Jane replied, wincing in pain.

 

“Let me see,” Darcy demanded, pulling Jane’s hand away from her neck. There was a long, straight incision in Jane’s skin, far too neat to be accidental. There was blood smeared around the wound and more oozed down Jane’s neck.

 

“It’s not deep,” Darcy confirmed. “You’ll be fine.” She summoned a handkerchief from her pocket dimension and pressed it to the laceration.

 

“I’m such an idiot,” Jane muttered. “I didn’t even try to stop her. She was just  _ there _ all of the sudden and I didn’t have time to react.”

 

“It’s not your fault,” Darcy assured her. “Loki’s going to get the scepter back. Don’t worry.”

 

Thor joined them, kneeling to take Jane’s bloodstained hand. “Are you in pain, my love?” he asked worriedly.

 

“I can barely feel it,” Jane told him, which Darcy knew was a flat out lie, but she let it pass. She looked up when she heard heavy footsteps approaching. Tony walked by the couches and took off out the hole in the window, presumably to back Loki up with Hela. Hopefully they hadn’t gone too far.

 

Natasha appeared over Darcy’s shoulder. “We’ve got medics on the way up,” she reported in a clipped voice. “And when your husband gets back we’re having words on why he screwed up my clear shot.”

 

“Hela is his  _ daughter _ ,” Darcy snapped back, harsher than she intended. “He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.”

 

Natasha’s eyebrows arched upwards, but she said nothing and vanished again.

 

“Uh, guys?” Jane said, sounding uncertain. “I don’t--I don’t feel good.”

 

Darcy looked back at Jane, who had turned deathly pale in a matter of seconds. As Darcy watched, a thin trickle of black fluid rolled from the corner of Jane’s mouth down her chin. Jane gagged, then coughed, spraying Darcy’s chest and neck with sticky, black fluid that Darcy belated realized was blood.

 

“ _ Shit! _ ” Darcy spat, and pulled the handkerchief away from Jane’s neck. The wound was now clotted with black blood, a spiderweb of black veins radiating from the laceration. “Oh no.”

 

“She’s been poisoned,” Thor said, taking Jane’s chin in one hand and tilting it towards him. “I… I do not recognize this poison,” he said, his tone concerned.

 

“Jane!” Darcy said sharply when her friend’s eyelids began to droop. “Jane, stay with me.” Jane’s eyes slid shut and she slumped forward, Thor reaching out to catch her. Darcy pressed her fingers at Jane’s throat, searching for a pulse. “ _ Jane! _ ”

 

XxxXxxX

 

It took less than an hour for Wyrd to arrive. Darcy was pacing a trench into the floor in the waiting area of the medical wing. She was alone, as Thor was with Jane. Steve was with Bucky, who had no other injury than a mild concussion. Sam, Natasha, and Clint had gone to help Tony and Loki coordinate a search for Hela and the scepter. Bruce was working with the doctors to try to identify the toxin in Jane’s blood.

 

Darcy startled when Jarvis spoke overhead. “There is a visitor requesting to speak with you, Miss Lewis.”

 

“Is it Wyrd?” Darcy demanded.

 

“That is indeed the name she gave,” Jarvis confirmed.

 

“Let her up,” Darcy instructed, and started walking towards the elevator. By the time she arrived, the elevator doors were just sliding open. Wyrd stepped out of the elevator and immediately went to embrace Darcy.

 

Darcy leaned into the embrace, tucking her face against the curve of her sister’s neck. “Thanks for coming,” she said, her voice muffled.

 

“Of course I came,” Wyrd replied, patting Darcy’s back. “I will always come when you call, little sister.”

 

Darcy sniffed to fend off the threat of tears and pulled away. Wyrd’s white hair was pinned tightly up, and she was wearing a black tunic embroidered with silver, black leather pants, and a black band around her forehead from which dangled the emblem of the norns. If Darcy hadn’t known that black was Wyrd’s sigil color, she would have been concerned.

 

“Take me to your friend,” Wyrd prompted.

 

Darcy led Wyrd back to the medical wing, holding her older sister’s hand. When they reached Jane’s room, Thor rose to his feet and bowed respectfully. “Eldest,” he greeted. “You have my deepest thanks.”

 

“Don’t thank me yet, boy,” Wyrd said briskly. “There still may be nothing I can do.”

 

Bruce, who’d been drawing another vial of blood for testing, paused and eyed Wyrd over the tops of his glasses. “You’re Darcy’s sister?” he asked.

 

“I am  _ Sigyn’s _ sister,” Wyrd corrected, joining Bruce by Jane’s bedside. “What have you done for her so far?”

 

“The toxin is causing her blood to coagulate in her veins, so we’ve put her on dialysis,” Bruce explained. “It, uh, cleans her blood and then returns it to her body. But it’s barely keeping up.” He gestured to the machine on the other side of the bed. “We’re still working on identifying the substance itself.”

 

“Yes,” Wyrd said, distracted, and plucked the vial of blood from Bruce’s fingers. He didn’t react other than raised eyebrows as she unstoppered the vial and raised it to her nose. Then she tilted the vial until she could tip one drop of dark blood onto her fingertip. She licked the blood off, much to Bruce’s obvious disgust and concern.

 

“Oh, dear,” Wyrd said quietly, and looked at Darcy. “I have never seen this poison actually used, but I believe this is the Black Mercy.”

 

Darcy shook her head. “I’ve never heard of that. What is it?”

 

“It is a poison that our sister Skuld created. She never used it, never had cause to. But she dabbled in many things, and you know the Sisterhood is not above an assassination or two in order to help Fate along.”

 

“Okay, if Skuld created it, it would make sense that Hela would have it,” Darcy said, crossing her arms.

 

Wyrd frowned. “Who is Hela?” she asked in confusion.

 

“Loki’s eldest biological child,” Darcy explained tightly. “She was born right after Skuld took control of Loki, and Skuld took her away from her mother to raise her as some kind of weapon. She’s got her sights set on Loki for revenge.”

 

“Oh, Skuld,” Wyrd breathed, shaking her head. “We may never know the extent to which her machinations grew.”

 

“Can you cure Jane?” Thor cut in impatiently. “This Black Mercy. Do you have an antidote?”

 

Wyrd took a deep breath. “No,” she said shortly. She pulled several items from her pocket dimension and placed on the bed beside Jane. “But I can slow it down until we can find one.”

 

Darcy closed her eyes and let herself feel the slightest bit of relief. When she opened her eyes, her gaze fell on Jane’s face. Except for the slow, steady beep of the heart monitor, Jane could have passed for a corpse. Her skin was gray, purple bruises under her eyes. Her lips and fingernails were tinged black, and the dark veins had spread out over her entire neck, up her cheek, and over her upper chest.

 

Just looking at her friend made Darcy sick to her stomach. This was her fault. She shouldn’t have given the scepter to Jane. What had she been thinking? Jane couldn’t have possibly defended herself against Hela. 

 

_ Hela _ .

 

Darcy was trying really, really hard not to hate the teenager, for Loki’s sake. But Hela had kidnapped her  _ twice _ , tried to kill her at least once, and now this. Loki still desperately hoped he could redeem the girl, that he could convince her to abandon her quest for vengeance and to come home to Asgard. Darcy wasn’t holding out that same hope. Not anymore.

 

Darcy’s phone vibrated in her pocket, and she checked it to see if it was Loki. It was Angela. Darcy felt a stab of guilt. She hadn’t spoken to Angela since they got back from Sokovia. She hit the green button and held the phone to her ear, stepping to the corner of the room.

 

“Ange, I’m sorry for not calling you, but this isn’t a really good time,” Darcy said.

 

_ “Are you okay?” _ Angela demanded fiercely.

 

Darcy blinked a few times. “What?”

 

_ “The Tower was attacked at your after party,” _ Angela said.  _ “Are you okay?” _

 

Darcy’s guilt grew a little more. Of course all Angela was worried about was her safety. “I’m good, I’m not hurt. But… Ange… Jane is… she’s not good.” Darcy cleared her throat and had to press her fingertips and thumb to her eyes to keep herself from crying.

 

_ “Are you on the medical floor?” _ Angela asked.  _ “What room?” _

 

“Uh, 105,” Darcy replied, lowering her hands. “Why?”

 

_ “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” _ Angela told her, and hung up.

 

Darcy stared at her phone for a few seconds before putting it back in her pocket, slightly mystified. She turned back to Jane’s bed. Wyrd had painted symbols in gold ink on Jane’s forehead, cheeks, and chest. As Darcy watched, Wyrd poured the vial of Jane’s blood into a small bronze bowl that immediately began steaming. Unlike normal steam, however, this was heavy and flowed downwards. Wyrd ran the bowl up and down Jane’s body, bathing her in the white vapor until it stopped flowing from the bowl.

 

“What did you do?” Bruce asked, adjusting his glasses.

 

“The Black Mercy is not simply a physical poison,” Wyrd explained. “It is a seidr-working, as well. You can clean her blood as much as you want but she will still deteriorate. I have managed to halt all magics in her body for a time.”

 

Wyrd put the bowl down on the bedside table. “The markings on her face and chest will slowly turn black. When they do, we have run out of time.”

 

Bruce nodded grimly. “Then we’d better get to work.”

 

Wyrd nodded back. “I will assist you. Show me your workshop.”

 

Bruce gestured toward the door. “Our lab is this way. Let me show you.” As he left, he paused to look at Thor. “We’re doing all we can,” he said softly.

 

Thor’s eyes didn’t leave Jane’s face. “I know,” he said sadly. “Thank you, my friend.”

 

After Wyrd and Bruce departed, Darcy dragged another chair over beside Thor and collapsed into it, scrubbing a hand over her face. Her stomach felt like it was tied up in knots, and she had a sudden, unexpected flash of resentment toward Loki. He should be  _ here _ , trying to find a way to heal Jane, not out on a wild goose chase after Hela. The kid was gone, long gone, probably. They could focus on finding her later, after Jane was okay.

 

Yes, Darcy knew that it was dangerous to let Hela run around with an Infinity Stone, but Jane was  _ dying _ . She couldn’t really focus on anything else at the moment. Darcy looked over at Thor. His face was unreadable, eyes dark and clouded. He held one of Jane’s hands in his much larger one, the over hand supporting Thor’s chin.

 

“Hey,” Darcy said, nudging Thor’s shoulder. “How you holding up?”

 

Thor exhaled slowly. “Not long ago… I was confronted by Jane’s mortality,” he said in a measured voice. “I had to accept the fact that she would age and die far before me. But I thought we would at least have several more decades longer than this, that I would have time to prepare myself. This…? I was not prepared for this.”

 

Darcy leaned towards him, putting one hand on his bare upper arm. “Thor, I _promise_ you, I will do _everything_ in my power to save Jane,” she told him solemnly. “Whatever it takes. I’m not letting Jane die on us.”

 

Thor looked down at Jane’s limp hand in his, then up at Darcy. “If this poison is the work of a norn, how can it be stopped?” he asked defeatedly. “Is it not the will of Fate?”

 

“ _ No _ ,” Darcy said firmly. “This is the work of  _ Hela _ , and we are going to stop her, you hear me? Hela is a vindictive little bitch, but she is not going to win. Not now, not ever.”

 

Thor shrugged slightly and turned back to Jane. Darcy could see there was no hope left in him for Jane’s survival. He had already resigned himself to her death. Darcy wasn’t just going to sit by and let that happen.

 

There was a quiet knock on the door to the room, and Darcy looked up to see Angela standing there, holding a white pastry box. “Hi,” Angela said, looking from Darcy, to Thor, to Jane. “Oh, god,” she whispered, her free hand raising to cover her mouth.

 

Thor glanced disinterestedly at Angela and then clearly dismissed her presence as unimportant. Darcy got to her feet and crossed the room to take Angela’s arm and lead her out of the room. “Hey,” Darcy said wearily.

 

“Is she going to be okay?” Angela asked quietly. “What happened?”

 

“She was poisoned,” Darcy told her, rubbing her forehead. “And at this point we just don’t know. We’re working on an antidote, and we’ve got her stabilized for now.”

 

“I’m so sorry,” Angela said. “You guys are pretty close, aren’t you?”

 

“She’s family,” Darcy agreed.

 

Angela nodded, her lips pressed together. “Here,” she said, holding the pastry box out to Darcy. Darcy took it with a confused frown and opened it up. Inside was the biggest, fanciest chocolate cupcake Darcy had ever seen.

 

“Oh, my god,” Darcy whispered, suddenly struggling to hold back tears again. “You remembered.”

 

“Of course I did,” Angela said.

 

It was a thing they had done, the two of them. When one was upset or stressed out or depressed, the other would give them the most elaborate chocolate cupcake they could find. It’d started their sophomore year of highschool, when Angela had baked Darcy a batch of them to cheer her up after her cat had passed away.

 

Darcy closed the box and clutched it to her chest. “Thank you, Angie,” she said in a thick voice. “God, I have missed you so much, you don’t even know.” 

 

Angela gave Darcy a tight side-hug. “I will always be here for you, Darce. No matter what goes on in your crazy life.”

 

Darcy gave up trying to hold the tears back and started crying in earnest, turning to bury her face in Angela’s shoulder, feeling only slightly guilty about her friend’s expensive-looking blouse. Angela wrapped both arms around Darcy, stroking her hair and murmuring wordlessly in her ear.

 

It was several minutes before the tears slowed to a stop, and when Darcy pulled away from Angela, the blonde’s shirt was stained with tears and mucus. Darcy scrubbed her nose with the cuff of her sleeve. “Sorry,” she muttered.

 

“Don’t worry, it came from TJ Maxx,” Angela said, waving a hand. “You’re totally worth it.”

 

Darcy managed a watery smile. “Thanks, Ange,” she said again.

 

Angela chewed on her lower lip for a moment. “Darce, aren’t you… technically… a goddess or something? Isn’t there something you can do?”

 

“One of my sisters is here and she’s already doing everything she can,” Darcy said, rubbing the side of her nose.

 

“But what about everything  _ you _ can do?” Angela pressed.

 

“There’s nothing--” Darcy cut herself off, her eyes narrowed. “You know what? I’m the Mother of the goddamned Ways. I’m the one with the brain-Skuld. If anyone’s going to figure this out, it’s gonna be  _ me _ .”

 

Angela gave her a dubious look. “I didn’t understand half of that, but okay. What do you need?”

 

Darcy looked around. “Somewhere dark and quiet.”

 

There weren’t a lot of patients in the medical wing, so they found an unused room a few doors down from Jane’s. Darcy hopped up onto the bed and then turned to Angela, who was holding the cupcake box again.

 

“Did you ever actually take that CPR class in college?” she asked.

 

Angela gave her a wide-eyed look. “Yes?” she said slowly.

 

“Okay, good. Just keep an eye on me in case I stop breathing,” Darcy said casually, and laid down on her back, wiggling to get comfortable.

 

“Is that likely to happen?” Angela demanded, her voice jumping half an octave.

 

“Maybe,” Darcy replied with the same lack of concern. “My squishy human body was never meant to handle being a norn, so using lots of power has a tendency to try to kill me.”

 

“Uh… are you sure this is a good idea?” Angela asked nervously.

 

“I told you,” Darcy said, folding her hands over her stomach. “I’m the Mother of the Ways. I contain all the knowledge of the norns. All of it. So if there’s a cure for the Black Mercy, I probably already know it. I just have to find it.”

 

“Okay,” Angela said uncertainly. “I’ll just… make sure you keep breathing.”

 

“Awesome,” Darcy said, and closed her eyes. It didn’t take her much effort to fall into her Other, as she’d had a good bit of time to practice many of her abilities over the last two years. She opened her eyes again to see she was standing in the living room of her farmhouse in Pennsylvania. There were toys on the floor and a pile of books on the couch. The afternoon sun slanted in through the windows, highlighting the dust floating in the air. It was absolutely silent, without any indication the house, or even the countryside, was occupied.

 

“Skuld,” Darcy called. “Brain-Skuld, I need you.”

 

The echo/memory of Skuld appeared in front of Darcy without ceremony, hands folded in front of her. “And how may I serve the Mother of the Ways?” she asked dryly. For whatever reason, the collective knowledge and memory of Skuld that lived in Darcy’s head did not like Darcy very much. She liked Sigyn, but not Darcy.

 

“I need to know how to cure the Black Mercy,” Darcy said without preamble.

 

Brain-Skuld blinked in surprise. “The Black Mercy?” she echoed. “That’s not possible. No one should have that poison.”

 

“Hela does,” Darcy said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Who, by the way, you never told me about. You wanna explain that one to me?”

 

Brain-Skuld gave her a narrow-eyed look. “You never asked,” she said flatly.

 

“Seriously?” Darcy asked in disbelief.

 

“I am not a living creature,” brain-Skuld said coldly. “I cannot conjecture, nor do I have intuition. I merely impart information.”

 

“Whatever,” Darcy interrupted. “The Black Mercy. How do I cure it?”

 

“I don’t know,” brain-Skuld replied, and fell silent.

 

Darcy stared at her for a long moment. “You don’t know?” she repeated. “How the fuck do you not know. You  _ invented _ that shit!”

 

“And a cure was never created,” brain-Skuld retorted. “It’s purpose was to  _ kill _ . There was no need for an antidote.”

 

“My friend is dying,” Darcy growled, stepping toward brain-Skuld. The echo/memory was literally a figment of Darcy’s imagination, a way for her human brain to cope with the massive amounts of information granted her by being the Mother of the Ways, but Darcy was still perfectly willing to kick her ass. “Give me a solution,” she demanded.

 

“There is only one way to save your friend, but it will turn her into an abomination,” brain-Skuld replied instantly.

 

Darcy paused. “What are you talking about?”

 

“You can prevent your friend from dying,” brain-Skuld said with exaggerated patience. “But the method is considered abominable by the norns.”

 

“I’m listening,” Darcy stared hard at brain-Skuld.

 

The other woman shrugged. “If you join your friend’s life-force to hers, give her a portion of your soul and take a portion of hers, it will heal her ailment and save her life.”

 

Darcy frowned. “How is that an abomination?”

 

“It is nothing like taking a lagsmaðr,” brain-Skuld explained. “This is not merely a bond of souls. This is tearing your soul in half and stitching half of hers in its place. You will experience the same pain, the same joy. You will bear each other’s scars and your lives will be matched down to the second. When one of you dies, so will the other.”

 

Darcy thought for several long moments. “I still don’t see how that’s an abomination.”

 

Brain-Skuld gave her a disdainful look. “You would be creating a single soul split into two bodies. It would be a sacrifice of your self. No norn would submit to such a thing.”

 

“Yeah, well, I’ve done a few things that no norn would do, so what the hell,” Darcy said with a shrug.

 

Brain-Skuld raised an eyebrow. “You are the host of Ragnarok,” she reminded Darcy. “Think of the consequences of that.”

 

Darcy froze, and then swallowed. “Shit,” she said softly. “What would happen to Jane if I did this, while I was the host of Ragnarok?”

 

“She could contain half of Ragnarok, and you the other,” Brain-Skuld told her. “To release it would require both of you.”

 

Darcy reached up to run her hands through her hair. “Okay. That’s something to consider. Uh, one last question. You said our lives would be matched to the second.”

 

“Yes,” brain-Skuld said uninterestedly.

 

“Does that mean that Jane would live for thousands of years, if I do?”

 

“Yes,” brain-Skuld said again.

 

Darcy nodded. “Yikes.” She sat down on the sofa next to the pile of books. She was quiet for a few minutes, absorbed in her own thoughts. Then she closed her eyes and reached out, searching for a familiar presence.

 

Jane appeared opposite Darcy, wearing an oversized maroon sweater and skinny jeans. Her skin had its normal healthy glow, and there was no wound on her neck. “Holy  _ shit _ ,” Jane exclaimed, spinning around in a circle. “Where the hell am I?”

 

“It’s okay,” Darcy said, getting to her feet. “You’re with me, Jane.”

 

Jane turned back to face Darcy. “Darce? Are we in your head?”

 

“Yup,” Darcy confirmed.

“Who is she?” Jane demanded, pointing at brani-Skuld.

 

“That’s brain-Skuld,” Darcy replied.

 

“Oh,” Jane said, and fell silent for a moment. “Why am I here?”

 

“Because I may have found a way to save you, but I need your permission first.”

 

Jane’s eyes widened. “Am I… am I dying?” she asked in a hushed voice.

 

Darcy swallowed thickly and nodded.

 

“Oh,” Jane said again, wrapping her arms around herself. “Okay. Uh, yeah. What’s your plan?”

 

Darcy explained everything, trying to make sure Jane understood exactly what Darcy was offering. Brain-Skuld didn’t say anything the whole time. When she was done, Darcy wrung her hands together nervously, staring at Jane. “Well?” she asked when Jane didn’t say anything.

 

“You would do that for me?” Jane asked incredulously.

 

“Of course I would,” Darcy told her. “You’re practically my  _ sister _ , Jane. I’d do anything for you.”

 

“But all of that… sharing your soul, feeling each other’s emotions, all of it. You would really do that?” Jane pressed.

 

“ _ Yes _ ,” Darcy insisted. “I would. I’m not ready to lose you, Janey.”

 

“I’m not ready to die,” Jane replied quickly.

 

“It’s not going to be easy, or fun,” Darcy warned her. “You’re going to carry half of Ragnarok, and I have no idea how that’s going to affect you. Not to mention you’re going to be immortal, now.”

 

Jane frowned and looked at her feet. She was wearing moccasins. “I was going to break up with Thor,” she said after a minute. “I was just… building up the courage, I guess.”

 

Darcy blinked, startled at the change in subject. “Why?”

 

“Because he was going to live for thousands of years, and I’m not.” Jane looked back up at Darcy, her brown eyes determined. “I didn’t want to. I know that I’m in love with him. I don’t want to lose him. Not ever. But I wanted to do the right thing.”

 

Darcy nodded slowly. “Now you won’t have to lose him,” she said quietly.

 

“Don’t think I’m not considering that,” Jane said. “That and not dying might be worth Ragnarok. I mean, you seem to be handling it pretty well.”

 

“I’m a norn,” Darcy pointed out.

 

“But if this works, I’ll be half a norn, right?” Jane asked.

 

Darcy frowned. “Uh…” she turned to brain-Skuld. “Is that true?”

 

“No,” brain-Skuld said disdainfully. “You will share the soul of the norn, but none of her power. That can only be passed from vessel to vessel.”

 

“Oh,” Jane said, her expression falling.

 

Darcy put her hands on Jane’s shoulders. “I want to do what’s best for you, Janey,” she said softly. “You need to be the one to make this decision.”

 

Jane looked up, her face hard. “Okay,” she said firmly. “Let’s do it.”

 

Darcy stared at her. “Just like that?” she asked.

 

Jane nodded. “I told you, I’m not ready to die. There’s still so much to the universe I haven’t discovered yet, and now I get the chance to work on my research for  _ thousands _ of years, not to mention a chance to be with the man I love? Hell yeah I’m taking it.”

 

“Okay,” Darcy said, stunned. “Wow. Okay. Let’s do this.”

 

Brain-Skuld sighed deeply. “I suppose it will be pointless for me to remind you that the other norns will consider this a crime against the order of the universe?”

 

“I’m saving my friend,” Darcy said. “End of discussion.”

 

“Very well,” brain-Skuld said resignedly. “On your heads be it.” She winked out of existence as if she had never been there.

 

Jane looked back at Darcy. “So. How do we do this?”

 

Darcy hesitated, and then felt the information slot into place in her brain. “Uh, I should probably warn you,” she said. “It’s going to hurt. A lot.”

 

“More than it hurts right now?” Jane asked.

 

“Yeah,” Darcy said grimly.

 

Jane swallowed. “Well, then we might as well get it over with.”

 

Darcy realized, not much later, that ‘pain’ was too small a word to describe having half your soul scooped out of your body. Physical pain was rather insignificant in comparison. The experience was so crippling, in fact, that Darcy herself was not able to perform the spell herself.

 

Darcy and Jane lay side-by-side on the packed dirt floor of the chamber underneath Yggdrasil’s roots. Yggdrasil itself knelt over the two women, a hand resting on each of their chests. Despite the sensation-fundamentally-larger-than-pain, Darcy was completely aware of her surroundings and what was going on. It was not unlike having brain surgery while you were awake. And not on any painkillers.

 

As Darcy watched, Yggdrasil drew a small spark of violet-white light from her chest that flickered and danced like candlelight. Yggdrasil carefully reached over and guided the light into Jane’s chest, while at the same time coaxing a tiny point of blue-white light free.

 

When Yggdrasil transferred that spark of Jane’s soul into Darcy, it felt like her entire world flipped inside out. When Darcy found out that she had a whole other set of memories inside her from Sigyn, the integration of those memories had been gradual. She’d had time to absorb them. This was shoving a whole human being inside her all at once.

 

It was far more intimate that her bond with Loki, where they were joined, but remained two separate beings. This was all of Jane inside of her and all of her inside of Jane. Darcy’s whole body burned with a physical pain that was not hers, and a frantic flutter of fear and anxiety that did not belong to her pounded in her chest.

 

Then Jane started screaming. It started out a scream of panic, but then got louder and higher-pitched, impossibly long, longer than she could have had breath for, on and on and on. Yggdrasil reared back, rising to its feet and turning green-gold eyes to Darcy as if to say, “This is your idea. Fix it.”

 

Darcy rolled over and grabbed Jane’s face in her hands. She knew what was wrong. It was Ragnarok. Jane was not able to contain or control it, and it was starting to consume her. 

 

“Jane,” Darcy called. “Jane, you need to listen to me! I need you to find an anchor. I know what the storm is like. I know it’s terrifying. But you have to find and anchor and hold on to that? Can you do that for me?”

 

Jane kept screaming, her eyes screwed shut and her body stiff and hard as stone. Darcy leaned down until their foreheads touched, and pushed all of her love and concern and care for this woman, for her  _ sister _ , into Jane’s mind.

 

The scream cut off like a switch was thrown, but Jane didn’t relax. “That’s it, Janey,” Darcy murmured. “Just like that. Hold onto me. I’ve got you. Now, I need you to take all of the storm and gather it up. I know it feels impossible, but there isn’t a thing you’ve ever tried that you can’t do. So gather it all up and find the deepest, darkest corner of your mind, and put it there. Lock it up and throw away the key.”

 

Jane began to shake, her whole body trembling with effort. Darcy didn’t let go, clinging to Jane as if her life depended on it. She continued to pour all her emotions into Jane’s mind, all her humanity, all of everything that made her Darcy.

 

Then Darcy slowly felt the storm recede, bit by bit, slowly, painstakingly, but unmistakably, pushed down deeper and deeper until Jane could slam a door closed on it, and her body abruptly relaxed.

 

Darcy gasped awake, pushing herself upright and reaching for Jane, who was not there. But Darcy could feel her,  _ right there _ , right next to her, feel her confusion and her relief and then her joy at waking up and seeing Thor there, waiting for her.

 

“Darcy!” Angela exclaimed, leaning over Darcy, her hand on Darcy’s arm. “Are you okay? Did it work?”

  
Darcy smiled dopily, feeling almost as if she was high from her and Jane’s combined emotions. “Yeah,” she said dreamily. “It really really did.”


	15. Asking Why I'm Here Instead Of Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear. Our lovely babies have gotten themselves in quite a mess, haven't they? Well, prepare to amp up the feels, because we're taking the one-way trip to Angstville via the Nope Train. All aboard!
> 
> BTW that's about all the warning you're gonna get. Next few chapters are hella dark.

Darcy burst into Jane’s hospital room, Angela on her heels. Jane was sitting up in the bed, Wyrd’s golden runes still painted on her skin, which had returned to its healthy glow, the dark veins gone as if they had never existed.

 

Jane and Darcy made identical high-pitched squealing sounds, and Darcy flung herself onto Jane’s bed, catching her friend-- _ sister _ \--into a tight embrace. Jane clutched at her just as tightly, laughing breathlessly into Darcy’s ear.

 

“Thank you,” Jane told her. “God, Darcy, thank you  _ so _ much.”

 

“Darcy, this is your doing?” Thor rumbled from beside the bed.

 

Darcy pulled away just enough to look at him. “Yeah. I did it. I saved her!”

 

Thor looked as if he was caught in between relief and confusion. “How?” he asked.

 

“The Black Mercy was created by Skuld,” Darcy told him. She pointed to her head. “I have all of Skuld’s knowledge and memories. She showed me how to counteract the poison.”

 

Thor was about to reply when Angela was unceremoniously pushed aside by Wyrd, who stormed into the room right up to Darcy.

 

“ _ What have you done _ ?” the Eldest norn demanded furiously.

 

Darcy let go of Jane and slid off the bed, drawing herself up proudly. “What I had to do,” she replied firmly.

 

Wyrd gestured sharply at Jane. “This is  _ never _ an option!” she spat. “Do you have any idea what you’ve created?”

 

“I saved my friend’s life,” Darcy retorted.

 

“You’ve created an abomination!” Wyrd shot back.

 

“ _Excuse_ me?” Jane cut in. “You do _not_ talk to Darcy like that. And _neither_ of us are abominations, FYI.”

 

“What does she mean, ‘abomination’?” Thor demanded.

 

“You cannot fuse a norn’s soul to a mortal’s and expect there to be no consequences!” Wyrd ranted at Darcy. “You have committed a crime against the universe, against the Sisterhood, and against your lagsmaðr!”

 

“What crime?” Thor asked, raising his voice. “Darcy, what have you done?”

 

“She  _ saved _ my life,” Jane said hotly. “How is that possibly a bad thing?”

 

“A mortal is now immortal, and bound irrevocably to a norn,” Wyrd spat at her.

 

“Sounds to me like you just can’t handle anything challenging the status quo,” Jane bit out.

 

“Everybody  _ shut up _ !” Darcy yelled, holding her hands out. She hadn’t used her norn-voice, but surprisingly, everyone did. Thor, Jane, Wyrd, and Angela stared at her with varying expressions. Wyrd was still furious. Angela looked terrified.

 

“First of all,” Darcy said quietly, looking at Wyrd. “The  _ universe _ I supposedly committed a crime against was the one who helped me do this. I couldn’t have done it without Yggdrasil. Secondly, you may be Eldest, but I am the Mother. I make my own decisions. And thirdly, it’s not like this is permanent. This vessel will die in a few thousand years, and the norn will be restored. So  _ chill _ .”

 

“Norns do not bind their souls to others,” Wyrd said tightly.

 

“Except that we  _ do _ ,” Darcy corrected. “Every time we take a lagsmaðr. What you  _ actually _ mean is we don’t bind our souls  _ equally _ . We just like to think that we’re better than everyone else.”

 

“That is because we  _ are _ ,” Wyrd told her.

 

“We  _ aren’t _ ,” Darcy insisted. “We may be powerful but our lives are no more precious than anyone else’s. Jane isn’t any less important than me, and she’s important  _ to _ me. So yeah, I’m going to do whatever it takes to save her.”

 

“It isn’t done,” Wyrd hissed.

  
“It is now,” Darcy said, setting her hands on her hips.

 

Wyrd gave her a narrow-eyed look. “There  _ will _ be consequences, sister. I pray for your sake it was worth it.” With that, she swept out of the room, gracefully moving past Loki, who’d appeared in the doorway sometime in the last few minutes. For the first time, Darcy suddenly felt nervous. 

 

Oh, god. She hadn’t even stopped to think how this would affect Loki.

 

Crap.

 

Jane reached out and touched Darcy’s hand, and she could feel the other woman’s doubt mirror her own. “Darcy,” she said softly. Darcy looked over at her and shook her head slightly. Then she looked at Thor.

 

“We’ll explain everything, I promise. Can I--can I just have a minute?”

 

Thor nodded gravely, looking profoundly concerned. Darcy turned again to face Loki, who was staring at her like he didn’t recognize her. She hesitated for a moment, and then walked towards him. He took a step away from her, and that tiny step cut her to the core. She raised her chin, squaring her shoulders, and stepped past him, into the hallway. Loki fell into step behind her.

 

When they were far away from Jane’s room to discourage eavesdroppers, Darcy turned to Loki again. He stood just out of arm’s reach, confusion and deep hurt on his face. 

 

“I’m sorry,” Darcy whispered, wringing her hands together.

 

“What did you do?” Loki asked, his voice equally soft.

 

“I--uh--I bound Jane’s and my souls together,” Darcy explained awkwardly. “It was the only way to save her,” she added in a rush. “Hela had poisoned her with the Black Mercy and there was no cure and I just _couldn’t_ let her die so I… uh… yeah. Did that.”

 

Loki crossed his arms over his chest and looked down for a long moment. “You didn’t think how that could have affected us?” he asked without looking back up.

 

“...No,” Darcy said. “No, I didn’t. Loki, I am  _ so _ sorry.” She reached out along their bond towards him, but he physically recoiled from her and his mental barriers slammed shut. Darcy gasped and flinched. It felt like… well, it felt like heartbreak.

 

“I can’t…” Loki waved one hand at her. He took a deep breath. “Every time I reach for you, I feel  _ her _ .” He finally looked Darcy in the eye. “ _ She _ does not belong to me.  _ You _ do. But this… How could you do this without speaking to me?”

 

Darcy swallowed, her throat tight. “I didn’t think,” she admitted, her voice barely audible. “Loki, I-- I wasn’t even thinking about that. All I could think was that Jane was  _ dying _ and I had to save her.”

 

“I  _ understand _ that,” Loki snapped. “Of course you would want to save her. You love her. But  _ this _ ? And you didn’t even stop to think? Darcy, that only makes it all the worse.”

 

Darcy hunched her shoulders as she took a deep breath. Her eyes stung with tears she was trying to hold back. She’d already apologized, multiple times. Saying it again would only cheapen the words. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked. “To fix this?”

 

Loki gave her a dubious look. “I do not think you can,” he told her regretfully, and turned on his heel, leaving her alone. Darcy swallowed again, bringing her hand up to scrub at her overflowing eyes.

 

She’d screwed up. Royally. She’d been so desperate to save Jane, so caught up in her own power and ability she’d been blind to anything else. Guess Wyrd was right, after all. There were consequences.

 

God, what had she done?

 

XxxXxxX

 

Loki kept his mental shields tamped tightly down, not wanting contact from anyone, most of all Darcy. Or Jane, for that matter. He supposed he should have been angry, but he did not have the emotion to spare for it. He was just tired. Hela had the scepter and the Mind Stone, his bond with Darcy was now irrevocably damaged, and he was  _ tired _ .

 

He felt a nudge against his hip and looked down. Fenris paced beside him, head tilted up so he could see his father’s face. Loki dropped his hand to rest on Fenris’ shoulders, but could not bring himself to speak. Together, the two of them walked aimlessly through the Tower.

 

Darcy hadn’t even  _ thought _ about how her decision would affect their bond, and that was what hurt the deepest. Loki had long ago closed himself off to everyone, had withdrawn his trust, his reliance on anyone but himself, in order to protect himself while he was under Skuld’s influence. But then he had met Darcy.

 

Darcy was different. Falling in love with Darcy had been as easy as breathing. She was a part of himself, a part of his very soul, both literally and figuratively. And yet she hadn’t hesitated a moment to destroy that.

 

Did he really mean so little to her? Clearly she valued Jane above all else, or else why would she have sacrificed half her soul to save the mortal?

 

Loki knew he was jealous by nature. As a young man he had resented his father’s attention on Thor. He’d resented his mother’s attention on anything that was not his lessons. But with Darcy, he had never had to feel jealous. He had always known he was her entire world.

 

Now, clearly not.

 

It needled him to feel jealous of  _ Jane _ , of all people. One of the few people, mortal or otherwise, that he held in high respect. He was not angry at  _ her _ . No, this was hardly her fault. She could not have known the impact it would have had.

 

Loki was too proud to admit that he was heartbroken. But if he  _ wasn’t _ , if he  _ could _ admit it, he would say the cause was that Darcy had refused him a choice. He was bound to Darcy for life. He would be her lagsmaðr until the day of his death, or hers. Which now meant he was bound to Jane, just as equally. He would be forced to protect Jane in the same manner that he would Darcy, because if one was harmed, so would the other be. 

 

Jane’s life was now his responsibility, and Darcy had thrust it upon him without offering him the choice.

 

If she had, though, what would he have done? What answer would he have given? If he had refused, if Jane had died, he was quite certain Darcy would never have forgiven him. Perhaps their relationship would have crumbled. Perhaps all that would have been left between them was the obligation of the soul-bond, nothing more.

 

Perhaps they were doomed either way.

 

Loki had a moment of clarity so sudden that he stopped in his tracks, staring straight ahead. He distantly realized that he and Fenris were back in the common area, standing in front of the massive windows overlooking the city.

 

Darcy was not at fault for this. Not truly. She had done what she did in good faith, trying to defy the impossible to save her friend, one she counted as a sister. Would he have done anything less to save someone he loved? Thor, perhaps? Or his mother? He could not honestly say.

 

But no, the one truly at fault was Hela. She was the one who had poisoned Jane, who had forced Darcy to take such drastic measures. Loki reached up and squeezed his forehead. There was a part of him that flatly refused to give up on Hela. A part of him the continued to hope that one day, she would be free of Skuld’s influence, as he was.

 

Hela was little more than a child, one with great power and, if she inherited anything from Loki other than said power, a predilection towards mental affliction. Furthermore, she had been raised by Skuld, twisted and sculpted into a weapon that was little more than an extension of the norn’s will.

 

Still, Hela had crossed the line here. It was one thing to lash out at him, or even at Darcy, the ones Hela perceived as responsible for the death of her guardian. But to attack an innocent mortal? One who had done nothing to harm her? Not to mention she stole the Mind Stone. Whatever plans Hella had for the Stone could not bode well.

 

Loki frowned. He realized he was no longer upset with Darcy. No, his greater concern was for his first-born. Skuld had taken his freedom, his mind, and his will. He would  _ not _ let Skuld take his child from him, also. He abruptly turned around, intending to find Darcy, to make plans, only to be confronted by Jane, now wearing a white t-shirt and cotton pants.

 

She startled at his sudden movement, taking a step backwards. “Um, hi,” she said, wringing her hands together in a gesture strongly reminiscent of Darcy. “Darcy… she, uh… she asked me to talk to you. I mean, she didn’t  _ ask _ , but she wanted to talk to you except she was really upset and was afraid you wouldn’t talk to her so I thought I could come and--”

 

“Jane,” Loki interrupted gently. “I am not angry. With you nor with Darcy. I understand why she made the choice she did. I am… disappointed, but not angry. But we cannot dwell on that now. Hela is a greater threat, and she needs to be dealt with.”

 

“Oh,” Jane said, sounding relieved. “Oh. Okay. Yeah, absolutely. I’ll, uh, I’ll go get her.”

 

“No need,” Loki said. “I know where she is.”

 

Jane trailed along behind him as he returned to the medical wing, heading for the waiting room. Darcy was pacing a trench in the floor while Thor tried vainly to calm her down. Rogers, Banner, and Stark, who had returned to the Tower when Loki had, were all also in the waiting room.

 

Wyrd, however, was noticeably absent.

 

When Loki stepped into the room, Stark turned towards him and threw up his hands. “ _ Finally _ . Maybe  _ you _ can explain what the hell is going on and how Foster is all better now.”

 

“Darcy generously donated part of her life-force to Jane to combat the poison,” Loki responded mildly. “It had the unfortunate but irrevocable side effect of effectively joining their souls together.”

 

Darcy stopped pacing and stared at him, wide eyed. He felt her probe gently at his mind, more questioning than an intent to gather information. He sent back a soothing reply while keeping his shields up. He didn’t have time to find a way to circumvent Darcy’s connection with Jane. He would, eventually, be able to restore his bond with Darcy. He hoped. But now was not the time.

 

He saw Darcy’s visible relief and she stepped towards him. He remained standing where he was, though Fenris left his side to greet his step-mother. Darcy absently scratched Fenris under the jaw where he liked it the best.

 

Rogers stepped forward, raising one hand. “Okay, wait, hold on a moment. Their  _ souls _ ?”

 

Loki waved dismissively. “The details are unimportant at the moment. Jane is healed and we are all quite happy. But we must focus on the matter at hand.”

 

“Yeah, how about the fact that the homicidal teenager who managed to get through the Tower’s recently upgraded security is your  _ daughter _ ,” Romanoff said sarcastically from behind Loki. He stepped to the side and half-turned to look at her.

 

“Yes, she is,” Loki said in a neutral voice. He knew that he would now be subject to having his intelligence, loyalty, sanity, and competence called into question for however long it would take the Avengers to come to grips that Hela was his daughter.

 

Stark slew around to look at Darcy again. “Did you know about this?” he demanded. Loki narrowed his eyes, glaring at the back of Stark’s head. The inventor was clearly desiring a negative reaction from Darcy.

 

But Darcy merely crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “Yes,” she said firmly. “I did.”

 

“So everyone’s favorite Frost Giant has a  _ teenaged daughter _ that none of us knew about?” Stark pressed, glancing around the room.

 

Rogers pinched the bridge of his nose. “Loki wasn’t obligated to tell us about his daughter, Tony,” he said wearily. He lowered his hand and looked over at Loki. “It would be helpful if you could explain why she’d want to hurt you. And why she wanted the scepter.”

 

“What her plans for the scepter are, I couldn’t tell you,” Loki admitted. “As for the other matter, she was raised by Skuld and she blames Darcy and I for her death. She has already made two attempts on my life and one on Darcy’s.”

 

“And a half,” Darcy added. “I mean, she only wanted to wipe my memories the first time, but still.”

 

Romanoff looked from Loki to Darcy and back. “Skuld raised Hela?” she asked, her face unreadable.

 

Loki sighed, knowing exactly where Romanoff was about to take this. “Yes,” he said flatly.

 

“And you were under her control for seven hundred and fifty years,” Romanoff continued.

 

“Yes,” Loki said in the same flat tone.

 

Romanoff narrowed her eyes. “How old is Hela?”

 

“Just under seven and a half hundred of your years,” Loki replied.

 

Romanoff continued to stare at him, narrow-eyed. Loki sighed heavily. “She was conceived just before I was overtaken by Skuld, and was born shortly after.”

 

“But you were, like, a teenager, right?” Stark said, rubbing his chin. “ _ Oh _ . Loki. You were a teen parent. What a horrible example you’ve set for the people of Asgard.”

 

Rogers screwed his face up, scratching behind one ear. “ _ Tony _ ,” he warned, before turning back to Loki. “What about her mother?”

 

“A princess of Niflheim who was part of a diplomatic delegation to Asgard,” Loki told him. “Skuld approached her and demanded to be given custody of the child.”

 

“And she just agreed?” Rogers asked, looking concerned.

 

Loki shrugged. “Skuld was the Eldest norn. Angrboda had no reason to doubt her. Also Hela is a bar sinister. She can hold no title on either Niflheim or Asgard. Not to mention she is mixed-race. Neither royal court would be very welcoming of her. Angrboda hoped that Skuld could offer a happier alternative.”

 

“Well, all of that is… horrible,” Banner spoke for the first time. “Issues of race and birth aside, when did you actually become aware that Hela even existed?”

 

“Just over two years ago,” Loki replied.

 

There were several long moments of silence. Then someone cleared their throat behind Loki. He spun around, summoning his dagger without thinking. He had had his senses clamped down, but still, no mortal should have been able to sneak up on him.

 

It was Barnes, standing in the hallway just beyond the door. He eyed the blade in Loki’s hand until Loki dismissed it again. “So,” he said softly. “Kid with the scepter. Sounds like bad news. What do we do now?”

 

“Hela managed to make it off world before I could catch up to her,” Loki told him.

 

“And exactly  _ how _ did she accomplish that?” Stark demanded.

 

Loki rolled his eyes as he changed position so he could see both Barnes and the entire waiting room. He was not eager to share the existence of the Ways to the Avengers at large. Rogers, he knew, already knew of them, as he had been Darcy’s closest confidante during the early days of her awakening.

 

“Let’s just say she has ways,” Darcy said, raising one eyebrow. Rogers snorted, which he turned into a cough, and then recovered enough to look solemn.

 

“Okay. So. What’s the plan? How do we find her?” he asked.

 

“The last we heard, she was on Jotunheim,” Thor offered, and then hesitated. “That may be where she discovered her ancestry.” He looked down at his arm, which still bore marks from Hela’s hands.

 

Darcy nodded. “Of course. She already knew that Loki was a Jotun. She goes to Jotunheim, discovers she’s part Jotun, and puts the pieces together. Great.” She looked over at Loki. “We have  _ got _ to find her this time.”

 

Loki ran his thumb over his lips. “It is possible she has gone to Niflheim,” he said after a moment of thought. “If she went to Jotunheim to discover her paternal ancestry, she may wish to explore her maternal ancestry.”

 

Darcy frowned. “We need to warn Angrboda. There’s no telling what Hella will do to her.”

 

Loki nodded. “Yes. A raven will be the fastest means of communication. Darcy, will you summon Víl?”

 

“Wait,” Stark said, holding up both hands. “Are you serious? Extremely advanced cultures capable of interplanetary travel and your best communication method is a  _ bird _ ?”

 

“Most realms do not have compatible technology, not to mention the distance between the realms makes it easy to intercept messages,” Loki explained while Darcy summoned a glossy, black feather from her pocket dimension. “The ravens have the ability to move between the worlds, and cannot be intercepted or subverted.”

 

Stark looked sceptical. “Seriously?  _ Birds _ . Can’t be intercepted?”

 

“How can you intercept something when you don’t know it’s method of travel?” Loki countered.

 

“It’s a bird. It flies,” Stark said flatly.

 

There was whisper of sound, and then Barnes ducked with a muttered curse. Víl landed on Loki’s shoulder with a flutter of wings. “Harken, harken,” he announced to the room at large.

 

“Jesus Christ,” Stark yelped, scrambling away from Loki. “That thing is  _ huge. _ And it  _ talks _ .”

 

“And he is highly intelligent and capable of moving undetected between worlds,” Loki said with a faintly smug smile. He reached up to offer Víl his forearm, and the raven stepped as delicately as a bird his size could.

 

That was when Loki noticed that there was already a silver band around Víl’s right leg. Loki frowned and reached up to remove it. Víl obligingly extended his leg, balancing easily on one. A thin membrane slid loose from the band and Loki spread it out to read the runes.

 

He felt his blood run cold at the words.

 

_ Lady Sigyn--farmhouse under attack--retreating to the Well--contact immediately _

 

“Loki, what is it?” Darcy demanded, closing the distance between them. Loki wordlessly handed the scrap of transparent parchment over. When she read it, he watched the blood drain from her face.

 

“Oh, god,” Jane said quietly, breaking away from Thor’s side. “Darce, you okay?”

 

Darcy stared at Loki for a moment, appearing to be stunned. “Way,” she said numbly. “We need… Way. I have to… Loki, I need--”

 

“Yes,” Loki blurted, shaking off his own shock. 

 

“What is it?” Thor demanded. “What has happened? The both of you look like death.”

 

“Someone’s attacked the farmhouse,” Darcy said tightly, and in his distress, Loki could not keep himself shielded from her. She slid back into place in his mind, bringing Jane with her, but Loki didn’t care at the moment. He  _ needed _ Darcy as much as she needed him.

 

Their children had been attacked.

 

As the fear bled off, Loki found himself shaking with rage. The edge of his vision tinged red and every sense came to highest alert. Darcy put her hand on his arm.

 

“Loki, hold it together,” she told him in the First Tongue. “Okay? I need you on this.”

 

He focused on her face. Her skin was ashen, blue eyes enormously wide. He had to control himself for her sake. He’d be no use to anyone on a murderous rampage. He reached out his hand for her and she took it, holding tight. They needed to find a suitable doorway.

 

Loki concentrated on his breaths as he stepped into the hall. The others were talking excitedly but their words meant nothing to him. It was all he could do not to lash out, to silence them all permanently. Darcy picked a doorway at random, and when they bled their minds together to form the Way, he could feel Jane as if she was peeking over his shoulder.

 

The Way snapped into existence faster and far more smoothly than Loki had expected, and without the accompanying headache. He heard Jane behind him, her words clear. 

 

“Son of a motherfucking  _ bitch _ .”

 

But Loki didn’t stop to see what had caused the outburst. He plunged through the Way, Darcy at his side. They stepped out into the Well of Fate, in one of the solariums. The dome overhead showed the night sky, impossibly bright with stars. Two of the disír were waiting for them.

 

“Where are they?” Darcy demanded, letting go of Loki’s hands. “Where are my children?”

 

“My lady,” one of the disír said, raising her hands. “The attacker followed your family into the Well. The vault was besieged.”

 

“ _ Where are my children _ ?” Darcy snarled, and Loki could feel the periphery of the norn-voice tugging at his mind.

 

The disír, of course, were not affected. “My lady,” the first repeated firmly. “The vault was besieged and the Tesseract was taken. Six of us were slain defending it.”

 

Darcy faltered. “The Tesseract?” she echoed.

 

“Shit,” said Rogers from behind Loki.

 

Loki turned, startled, to see Thor, Jane, Rogers, and Barnes all clustered by the entrance to the Way. He turned away from them. He didn’t have time to focus on them. “Who attacked you?” he demanded of the dis who had spoken.

 

The dis frowned, looking up at their spare height difference. “It was a Jotun, my lord. One not dissimilar to you. He, too, was small in stature, and he had similar clan markings.”

 

Loki sucked in a startled breath. He knew that Laufey had other sons. Was one of them like him? Dwarfish? Did this other Laufeyson have power as Loki did? His mind raced on, leaping to greater conclusions. He had taken an Infinity Stone. Was he working with Hela? Was that why she was on Jotunheim?

 

He shook those thoughts away. “I am sorry for the loss of your sisters,” he told the dis. “But I beg of you, take us to our children.”

 

The two disír both bowed and swept out of the room, Darcy on their heels. Loki followed a half-step behind. The ringing in his ears was growing louder, and he could feel his skin race towards freezing temperature. It took all his self-control to fight back the scarlet at the edges of his vision.

 

His children. His  _ children _ . Darcy had once made him promise not to sacrifice himself for her, but she had extracted no such promise for the children. For them, they would both quite gladly burn the universe down. 

 

The disír led them to another room, this one with neither dome nor windows, the floor covered in soft rugs and strewn with cushions and children’s toys. He saw his daughters first, counting them to be sure all were accounted for. At the sight of their parents the girls abandoned their listless games.

 

Loki had to go down on one knee so he could check each one for injuries, distractedly answering their babbled questions. They had minor bruises and scrapes, but nothing he couldn’t heal with a touch and a thought. He had to look twice for Kari only to find her with her arms around Fenris, her face buried in his fur.

 

Joanna walked over to join them, her face gray and aged. She hugged Darcy tightly, sobbing into her daughter’s neck.

 

Once Loki was assured that his daughters were alive and well, he looked around for Brenna. The handmaid was curled up in the corner of the room, staring straight ahead with glass, unseeing eyes. Her clothing was torn and bloodied and her shoulder was wrapped in white bandages.

 

Loki crossed over to her and crouched in front of her, snapping his fingers in front of her nose. She focused on him with a gasp, and tried to struggle to her feet. He reached out and put a hand on her uninjured shoulder, stopping her.

 

“Brenna, how bad are your injuries?” he asked her quietly.

 

Her eyes filled up with tears. “Oh, my lord,” she whispered. “I have failed you. I have failed my duty.” She tried to awkwardly prostrate herself in front of him, but there was not enough room. “I beg you, my prince. Let my death be swift.”

 

Loki frowned at her, unease growing in his chest. He pushed her back upright again. “What do you speak of? What have you done?”

  
Brenna wouldn’t meet his eye. “They took him,” she said brokenly. “The Jotnar, my lord. They took your son.”


	16. Watch Me Fall Above Like A Vicious Dove

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we are officially past 200 pages, my dears! It looks like I am continuing my tradition of making each book longer than the last one. *sigh* Who even was I before I started this mess? I don't remember anymore.
> 
> Two quick notes: 1, "angan" means "delight/joy" and I finally found a term of endearment for Darcy to call Loki that I actually like. Also 2, please hit me up if you have any questions regarding Jotunheim and gender identity.

Darcy thought she knew what cold meant. That was before coming to Jotunheim in this vessel. She was wearing a fur coat atop multiple layers of wool and silk and she was _still_ freezing. If Loki were with her, he could have charmed her coat or something, but it had been a unanimous decision for him to go to Asgard instead, to alert Odin and Frigga that Elden had been taken.

Darcy stopped on the stone path that was miraculously clear despite the blowing snow and screwed her eyes closed, concentrating on her breathing while she struggled momentarily with her emotions. She could _not_ allow herself to feel anything at all right now. She was of no use to Elden a sobbing, nervous wreck. If she was going to find her son, she had to keep it together.

Thor put a heavy hand on her shoulder, leaning down to speak in her ear above the howling wind. “Darcy, are you well?”

Darcy shook herself all over. “Yeah,” she called back, and started walking again. Her heart felt as numb as the ice that covered the vast majority of this barren planet. Even the niggling worry that seeped through from Jane was locked down tight.

The Jotun that was leading them to the palace was easily nine feet tall, or more, dressed in a leather kilt and vest, glossy black hair braided with bits of bone and colored cords. Three more Jotnar brought up the rear of their delegation. The four Jotnar had come upon them as they struggled through the icy landscape from the Way, and once Darcy had managed to convince them not to kill her and her companions, had reluctantly agreed to bring them before the Jotun king.

When they were trying to determine who would go with Darcy to Jotunheim, since Loki was not an option, Steve had tried to talk Darcy into letting him go with her. Except Bucky refused to let Steve go anywhere without him, and Darcy had to point out the disadvantages of taking someone who had been traumatized by repeated cryogenic freezing to an _ice planet_.

In the end, she was accompanied by Thor, three of the disír, and Wyrd, who’d followed Darcy to the Well as soon as she heard what had happened. Wyrd, of course, didn’t seem bothered by the weather one bit.

Darcy hadn’t been in this realm for over fifteen hundred years, and it had changed a great deal. The soaring towers were crumbling and decrepit, and the cities carved in the sides of the mountains were now mostly empty.

When they reached the city, the Jotnar they passed watched with sullen, carmine eyes, grumbling to each other in low voices. Young children as tall as Darcy darted between the adults, calling out to each other in the Jotun tongue. One child flung a rock at Thor, who batted it out of the air with Mjolnir, and kept on walking, ignoring the incident altogether.

The gates to the palace stood open, leading into a flat, open courtyard floored with a single piece of volcanic rock that was so smooth and shiny it looked like glass. Another group of children skated on the surface with sandals made of soft leather, but, like the others, they ceased their games when Darcy and the others entered. The tallest one spat in their direction, muttering “pink-skins” under their breath.

The Jotun leading them waved them to a halt in the courtyard and glared down at Darcy. “You will wait here,” he rumbled in his deep voice, baring sharp, uneven teeth at her. Darcy just shrugged back, crossing her arms over her chest. Thor came to stand on her right, Wyrd on her left. The disír stood behind them, wearing identical leather coats over their white dresses.

Their guide entered the palace proper, leaving them to wait. At least they were out of the wind. The children milled about, unwilling to return to their play, and the tallest one, who was a few inches taller even than Thor, drifted closer to them, eying the strangers suspiciously.

One of the Jotnar left guarding Darcy’s group growled at the juvenile, cuffing them around the head and driving them back to the others. A few more adults entered the courtyard, caught sight of the off-worlders, and immediately went back inside.

Movement out of the corner of Darcy’s eye caught her attention, and she turned towards a narrow doorway in the corner of the courtyard, shadowed by the mountaintops overhead. It was open a crack, and there was someone standing there, peering out. At first Darcy thought they were a young child, because she guessed them to be about Loki’s height. But then the Jotun leaned further out, and Darcy saw that their features were too mature to be a child. Then the Jotun glanced over at Darcy and their eyes met for a brief moment before the Jotun disappeared into the doorway, pulling it shut behind them.

Darcy didn’t have long to ponder this before their guide returned, along with three more Jotnar guards and the Jotun king himself, Býleister. He was barechested, dressed in an elaborately embroidered leather kilt with an impressive fur cloak around his shoulders. He wore a plain crown forged of what appeared to be iron, unset with any kind of adornments.

He also looked incredibly young. Loki was the eldest of Laufey’s children, and he was only in his equivalent of mid-twenties. Býleister was even younger. So despite the towering height and the breadth of his shoulders, all Darcy could see was a boy-king struggling to keep his kingdom afloat.

Býleister frowned as he stared down at the off-worlders. His gaze lingered on Thor, his expression growing moody.

“Why have you come here, and why did you bring _him_?” he demanded of Wyrd, gesturing toward Thor with one hand.

Thor wisely kept his mouth shut, allowing Wyrd to answer. “We have come because the home of my sister, Sigyn, was attacked today, and her son was taken.”

“And what business is this of mine?” Býleister asked impatiently. “My patience wears thin, norn, and my hospitality even more so.”

“Because it was a Jotun who attacked us,” Darcy spoke up, meeting Býleister’s gaze boldly. “One with markings of the line of Laufey.”

That got Býleister’s attention. His frown grew concerned, and he stepped forward, leaning down so he could study Darcy’s face. “The line of Laufey?” he echoed. “That is not possible, norn. I am the last of that line.”

“Clearly not, because a Laufeyson attacked my home and kidnapped my son,” Darcy replied flatly. “So please think really hard. You’re sure there are no others?”

Býleister’s expression darkened and he straightened. “Are you calling me a liar?” he challenged, and a low rumble went through his guards. The Jotnar shifted restlessly, the sound of ice creaking filling the air. Thor put his left hand on Darcy’s shoulder, his right hand gripping Mjolnir tighter.

“No one is accusing anyone of anything,” Wyrd cut in smoothly. “I am sure that you have no knowledge of this attack, Býleister King, and that you would never sanction an attack on a norn.”

Býleister grunted and gestured for Wyrd to continue. “Perhaps there is a by-blow, a bar sinister, one not claimed by Laufey King,” Wyrd went on, her voice soothing.

Býleister rubbed his chin as he thought. His eyes drifted to rest on Thor again. “Why does Asgard send its golden son?” he asked, sneering on the last two words. “Tell me why I should not kill him where he stands, or throw him to the Iarnvidiur?”

“Because the child taken is second in line to the throne of Asgard,” Thor replied, somehow managing to look down his nose at the Jotun that stood three feet taller than him.

Býleister appeared taken aback at that, and another rumble went through the guards. The king looked from Darcy to Thor and back, the wheels clearly turning in his head. Darcy knew that Býleister was now realizing the scope of what was going on. If Asgard decided to officially blame Jotunheim for the kidnapping of the infant prince, then that would be all the excuse Asgard would need to start a war that would utterly destroy the already-destabilized Jotunheim.

But the presence of this delegation showed that they were willing to work with Býleister as much as possible, to find the responsible parties without blaming the entirety of the realm. It would be in Býleister’s best interest to cooperate with them.

Býleister crossed his arms over his bare chest and scowled down at Darcy. “Laufey birthed three children,” he said finally. “The first died during the War with Asgard. I am the second. The third was banished to the wastelands for challenging my claim.”

Darcy knew where the first son of Laufey had been when Elden had been taken. She was _pretty_ sure Býleister wasn’t responsible for the kidnapping. So it would be the third Laufeyson that had taken Elden.

She had to fight back another surge of panic, anger, and fear, this one so intense that her knees went weak and Thor had to catch her arm to keep her upright. “You should not have come,” he murmured in her ear.

“I had to do something,” she hissed back. “I couldn’t just sit around and do _nothing_.”

“The third Laufeyson,” Wyrd asked. “What was his name?”

“It is of no use to you,” Býleister told her. “No one survives in the wastelands alone.”

“He wasn’t alone,” Darcy said to herself.

“What did you say?” Býleister demanded, staring hard at Darcy.

Darcy took a deep breath and looked up at the Jotun king again. “He may have been working with a Niflungar sorceress named Hela,” she said louder. “She was on Jotunheim not long ago.”

Býleister frowned again. “What do you plan on doing, should you find them?” he asked.

Darcy’s vision went dark around the edges, and she could hear the Storm whisper at the back of her head, begging to be let free, to vanquish her enemies. The desire was so strong she was already reaching for it when she abruptly snapped back to herself.

 _Focus_ , Sigyn said sharply in her ear. _We must keep our eyes on the task ahead of us. If we lose control, we will lose our son_.

“He will be brought to justice,” Thor answered for Darcy, his words neutral but his tone decidedly not.

Býleister looked crafty for a moment. If he played his cards right, then Asgard would remove a great threat to his throne without him having to lift a finger. “Helblindi,” he said at length. “The third Laufeyson is Helblindi. Make use of that what you will. My hospitality has run its course, now.”

Wyrd inclined her head regally. “We will tell the Allfather of your cooperation, Býleister King,” she told him solemnly. The king waved his hand dismissively and turned to re-enter the palace. All of the guards save one followed him, the last remaining indicating he would guide them back out of the city.

Darcy had to focus on each step, putting one foot in front of the other, just to keep moving. She had been freezing on the trip into the city, but now she could feel heat radiating from her skin. Ragnarok was so close, seething just under the surface. She could feel Jane’s consciousness fluttering nervously against hers. Of course Jane could sense the rising Storm in Darcy, and was clearly frightened by it.

Darcy tried to gather herself enough to send Jane a reassuring message, to show her friend that she was in control, but she couldn’t spare the attention away from preventing the Storm from lashing out and swallowing everything in its path.

So that was why when she realized there was someone walking next to her, she very nearly stabbed them in the ribs with the dagger she summoned to her hand. She stopped herself at the last minute, shoving her hand behind her back.

It was the diminutive figure from the courtyard, the Jotun not much taller than Loki yet full grown. Darcy craned her neck to look up at the Frost Giant. The Jotun was wearing a gown made of white leather and trimmed with fur and colorful beads. They wore their hair long and loose down their back, with a circlet of silver wire around their forehead.

Darcy knew that Jotnar had but one gender, all of them capable of birthing offspring, but most decided to present themselves to the realms as male. This one, however, seemed to lean towards female.

“Who are you?” Darcy demanded. Neither of them had stopped walking, still following the guard in front of them.

“My name is Freid,” the Jotun said, dropping their voice and sending the guard a furtive look. “You are looking for the Laufeyson, Helblindi.” They didn’t phrase it as a question.

“Do you know where he is?” Thor cut in from behind Darcy.

Freid glanced over their shoulder at Thor. “No. But someone else came to the city three days ago. A mixed-blood. She said her mother was Niflungar.”

“Hela,” Darcy said. “You saw her?”

“I did, and I saw her markings,” Freid went on, glancing again at the their guide. He didn’t bother to turn to check on them, nor did their voices carry over the wind. “She transformed when I touched her. I have never seen a Jotun so small.”

“Well, she is a mixed-blood,” Darcy muttered.

“Yes, but her markings were of Laufey’s line,” Freid hissed. “That was _why_ she was looking for Helblindi. She said she had business with them.”

“Did she say anything else?” Darcy pressed. “Where they were going, what they were doing? Anything?”

“She asked me to join her,” Freid said. “To help her. I would not. My life is only permitted by the king’s good grace. I cannot risk his displeasure.”

“Because you’re…” Darcy trailed off and gestured at her.

“ _Yes_ ,” Freid said impatiently. “But I am the sibling of the King’s lover, and the King does not wish to  displease my brother. But the sorceress, Hela, you call her. She said she was looking for a spell, one hidden here by the Eldest norn, Skuld.”

Wyrd caught up with them, staring hard at the small Jotun. “What spell?” she demanded.

Freid reached into a pouch on the front of their belt and pulled out a scroll. They shoved it into Wyrd’s hands. “Remember that I helped you,” Freid told them in a low voice. “Should I ever need refuge.” With that they turned and vanished into the city as suddenly as they had come.

Wyrd tucked the scroll under her coat and gave Darcy a warning look. Darcy nodded back and hurried to catch up with their guide. The Jotun guard led them out of the city before abruptly abandoning them to the ice and wind.

Darcy, Thor, and the disír clustered around Wyrd as she pulled the scroll out and unrolled it. “Fates preserve us,” Wyrd whispered. Darcy leaned closer, squinting at the runes on the parchment.

“Is that-- Is that what I think it is?” Darcy demanded.

“What is it?” Thor asked, sounding exasperated.

“It’s a spell to harness the Tesseract,” Darcy explained, taking the scroll when Wyrd offered it to her. “It’s supposed to be done by the Mother of the Ways.”

“What does it _do_?” Thor pressed impatiently.

Darcy looked up at him. “It opens a doorway.”

Thor frowned. “Like the Bifrost?”

Darcy shook her head. “No. Not like the Bifrost. A doorway to another _dimension_.”

XxxXxxX

“Where did you get this?” Loki demanded as soon as he finished reading the scroll Darcy had handed him.

“A Jotun named Freid gave it to us, said that Hela had been looking for it,” Darcy explained.

“And you trusted them?” Loki asked sharply.

“Sort of,” Darcy said impatiently, waving one hand. They were back at the Well. Steve, Bucky, and Jane hadn’t taken kindly to being left behind, but Darcy’s daughters now all had a crush on Bucky’s left arm, and Steve had been unanimously dubbed “Uncle Stevie,” much to his chagrin. Darcy was just grateful the girls were staying distracted, because every time one of them asked “Where’s Eldie?” Darcy wanted to kill something.

“Look, Freid was different,” Darcy told him. “They were… small. Like, your size. They said they were only allowed to live because their brother is the King’s boyfriend or whatever. Freid was afraid of what would happen if Býleister’s position was ever threatened. If Helblindi claimed the throne…”

“They would be executed out of hand,” Loki finished. He gestured with the hand holding the scroll. “This is a copy, a recent one. We must assume that Hela found the original.”

“But what does that mean for us, now?” Steve demanded, his arms crossed over his chest. “What are we going to do about it, _now_?”

“We don’t know if Hela was successful,” Darcy said, chewing on her thumbnail. Jane reached over and batted her hand away from her mouth. “And if she was, we have no idea where she is.” The thought of her son, her _baby_ , taken to a different _dimension_ was too much for a moment, and her senses blanked out, leaving her in the whitespace of her Other until she felt Loki take her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs along her palms.

She blinked her way back to reality and saw him staring down at her. He hid his emotions better than her, but she could see the way the lines at the corner of his eyes were carved a little bit deeper. She squeezed his hands slightly and nodded at him.

“Sigyn,” Wyrd said, snapping her fingers at Darcy. “You must enter the Well. You must speak with Yggdrasil. It will know if your son was removed from this dimension.”

Darcy nodded. “Right. Of course it will. But… um… do you think it will know where--where he was taken?” She hoped no one noticed her stumbling over her words, but that was doubtful.

“There is no harm in asking,” Wyrd told her sharply. “In the meantime, I will gather the sisterhood. We do not have the Tesseract. If we are to find a way to follow Hela and Helblindi, we will need all of us, I predict.”

Darcy counted in her head. With Skuld gone, and Skaði and Freya recently reborn, that left only six of them. Hopefully whatever they had to do wouldn’t take any more than that. She left the room they’d gathered in and headed toward the Well. Loki caught up with her in the corridor.

“Darcy,” he called softly, catching her wrist. Darcy pulled free of his grip even as she turned to face him.

“Don’t,” she warned him.

He blinked at her. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t be supportive or sympathetic or whatever it is you were about to do,” Darcy told him. “Because if it’s _you_ and you get emotional, I will lose it. And I’ve got Ragnarok so close to the surface right now I will turn this entire planet to dust if I don’t keep my shit together.”

Loki pressed his lips together. “Very well. But I do wish you to know that, despite whatever facade I may put forth, I… _feel_ … as well. I am not unaffected.”

Darcy nodded. “I know,” she said softly. “Trust me, _angan_ , I know.”

For a moment they stood in the corridor, silent, close but not touching. Then Loki raised his hand to squeeze her shoulder, just briefly, and returned to the chamber with the others. Darcy screwed her eyes closed for a moment, breathing heavily. She wanted to be able to just sit in a corner and cry, to freak out like a normal person would if their child had been kidnapped.

But Darcy wasn’t normal and there was no one else except her and her family who were going to get her son back, so she _had_ to keep it together.

The Well that gave the disír’s home its name was the same as it had been the last time Darcy had visited it. The room was circular, with gray stone floor and unpolished wooden panelling. The ceiling overhead was a glass dome that showed the night sky full of stars, despite it being day outside the facility.

The well itself was a perfectly round pool of water in the center of the chamber. The surface of the water was smooth and flat as glass, and as dark as the void. There was no reflection, not of the stars in the dome overhead nor of Darcy when she knelt at the edge of the pool.

Darcy reached out and dragged her fingers through the surface of the water. There was no ripple, and the water was the exact temperature of her skin, making it hard to feel that she had touched the water at all. “Yggdrasil,” she called softly. “I need you.”

There was a moment of silence, and then a hand, made of silver wood and bark, broke the surface and wrapped twiggy fingers around Darcy’s wrist, tugging her gently but inexorably towards the water. Darcy didn’t struggle, and let herself be drawn into the water. For a moment the water pressed around her and she couldn’t breathe, and then she found herself in a dirt-floored chamber surrounded by the roots of Yggdrasil.

The personification of the universe was a bipedal creature approximately eleven feet feet tall, its skin made of silver bark. A multitude of green, leafy vines grew around its body, culminating in a deep hood that shrouded its face so all that was visible was a pair of glowing, green-gold eyes.

YOU HAVE HAD NEED OF US MUCH OF LATE, MOTHER, Yggdrasil said.

“Is there a limit to how much I can ask?” Darcy muttered sullenly.

Yggdrasil gave her an unamused look. WHAT DO YOU HAVE NEED OF US? It asked.

Darcy took a deep breath and folded her hands in front of her. “A Jotun named Helblindi and Loki’s daughter Hela kidnapped out son, Elden. I need you to see if he is still in this dimension.”

Yggdrasil tilted its head to the side. YOU SPEAK AS IF YOU FEAR HE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM MY SIGHT.

“Hela has a spell,” Darcy explained, her voice catching. “To open a doorway to another dimension. I need to know if she’s already accomplished it.”

The leaves sprouting from Yggdrasil’s vines fluttered in a wave from hood downward. YOU KNOW IT IS NOT EASY FOR US TO IDENTIFY A SINGLE LIFE FROM THE MULTITUDES, it warned.

“Please,” Darcy whispered. “Can you try?”

Yggdrasil reached out with one hand, extending a twiggy finger that brushed Darcy’s cheek gently. FOR YOU, MOTHER, WE WILL TRY, it assured her, and then straightened. Its eye-lights winked out, as if it had closed them, and the leaves that covered it trembled.

Darcy’s heart pounded in her chest and anxiety coiled in her stomach like a sickness. If Hela had succeeded, if Elden was gone beyond her reach… she had no idea how she would react. She was pretty sure Yggdrasil would survive the fallout, considering Darcy only contained half of Ragnarok. The rest of her family on Muspell, however… Darcy wasn’t quite so sure.

Yggdrasil’s eye-lights brightened again, and it looked down at Darcy. I CANNOT FIND YOUR SON, it said in a grave voice. HE IS BEYOND MY SIGHT.

Darcy’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground, fingers clawing at the dirt floor while she struggled to breathe. _Gone. Gone, gone, gone_ . Her son was _gone_ and she didn’t know _where_ and she couldn’t find him, couldn’t get him back.

It was too much for her. Ragnarok howled free, and the Storm claimed its vessel.

XxxXxxX

_Eight hours previous:_

Hela had, of course, enacted her portion of the plan flawlessly. She had the Mind Stone and the enemy would be sufficiently distracted long enough to move forward to phase two. She held her veil tightly around her as she moved down the streets of Fólkvangr to the designated meeting place. None of the Vanir that passed her noticed her presence at all.

She clutched the scepter tight in her right hand. It had taken months of planning, spying, and scheming to bring her plans to fruition. She had had to seek help in places she would rather have not explored. Jotunheim, of all realms. It was there, of course, she had learned the ugly truth.

Loki, the murderer, was her _father_ . She had already discovered his true nature, that he was a Jotun, but that mattered little to her. Petty squabbles between realms had no interest in her, so Tyr’s anger over the discovery had concerned her little. But that _she_ was Jotun, and of the line of Laufey, no less.

It made her sick. It made her furious. Her hatred for Loki and the norn, Sigyn, burned all the hotter. Her own flesh and blood had betrayed her, cutting down the one person in the whole universe who had given a damn about her.

Now Loki came to her and pretended that he _cared_ , that he wanted to _help_ her? His pathetic lies truly knew no end. He was delusional, however, if he thought she would be swayed by pretty words. If he _cared_ so greatly for her, why had he handed her over to a norn to be raised? Why had her mother abandoned her to the cruel whims of the universe?

No, Hela would not convince by promises made by the Liesmith. She would take the Stones and enact her revenge. Whatever come after that, at least she would have justice.

She slipped into the empty villa she had prepared for this purpose and dropped her veils. The villa had belonged to Tyr. As long as he lived, it could not have been sold, despite the fact he’d been banished from Vanaheim. Now that he was dead, his holdings were slowly being sold off, the money going to serve the people. This one in particular was still unsold, and Hela had warded it every way Skuld had taught her.

The villa was empty, but not unoccupied. Hela found the chamber her partner was in easily. She just followed the drop in temperature.

Helblindi was not what Hela had expected. Hela had never had need to go to Jotunheim before, but she had heard that the Jotnar were giants, some as much as ten feet tall. But during her time there, she had encountered two separate Jotnar who were, for lack of a better word, dwarfish. The first Hela had encountered, Freid, called them the _smárfolk_ . Hela was surprised enough that more than one existed, much less _three_.

Helblindi was bent over a silver mirror when Hela entered the chamber, their black hair pulled back in a simple tail away from their face. Their presence caused the room to be cold enough that Hela’s breath puffed out in a white cloud. Helblindi was wearing a long tunic of silver leather, trimmed with black fur, and black leggings. Strands of beads made from stone, bone, and metal hung around their neck, and there were white markings painted on the back of their hands and on their cheeks.

The Jotun looked up when Hela entered, straightening to their full height of just over six feet. “Is that it?” Helblindi demanded, scarlet eyes fixed on the scepter in Hela’s hand.

“Did I not say I would retrieve it?” Hela retorted. “Where is the Tesseract?”

“There,” Helblindi replied, pointing at a metal box on the table where they were working.

Hela placed the scepter on the table and lifted the lid on the box. The room was filled with an unnatural blue light as she gazed down at the crystal cube.

“Are you certain you can perform the spell?” Helblindi asked, frowning at Hela.

Hela slammed the lid closed and glared at the _smárfolk_. “Yes, I am certain,” she said irately.

“Because the spell is meant for the norns to perform,” Helblindi pointed out.

“I am the heir of the Eldest,” Hela hissed at the Jotun. “I am more than capable.”

Helblindi sniffed dismissively and went back to her casting with the mirror. Hela pulled out the spell from the pocket of her tunic and spread it out on the table. A small sound caught her attention, a tiny mewl that sounded like it came from an infant animal. Hela looked up with a frown and scanned the room.

There was a basket in the corner, with a blue blanket hanging over the side. The sound came from the basket again, and Hela crossed the room to look inside. Her black eyes widened when she saw the infant, blinking sleepily and stirring weakly. The child was Jotun, or at least partially, with blue skin and the same markings as Helblindi, and Hela, as well, as she had so recently discovered.

Hela whirled around, her fury rising. “What have you _done_?” she hissed at Helblindi.

Helblindi glanced over their shoulder at Hela dismissively. “What are you talking about?”

“You _kidnapped_ my _brother_ ,” Hela snapped at Helblindi, pointing at the infant in the basket.

“Yes? And?” Helblindi asked, raising one dark eyebrow.

“I did not agree to this,” Hela said, her voice rising. “I did not agree to take an _infant_ from its _wet nurse_! How are we to care for him? I have nothing for him to eat!”

“Then find something,” Helblindi told her curtly. “You are a sorceress. Make do.”

Hela stared agape at the Jotun. “ _Why_ did you take him?”

“Insurance of safe passage,” Helblindi replied, waving one hand while they went back to their casting. “If their search brings them too close before we are prepared, then we threaten to kill the child.”

Hela balled her delicate hands into fists. “You will not harm him,” she snarled at Helblindi. “He is my _brother_ , in case you have forgotten. And your _nephew_.”

“He is no kin of mine,” Helblindi sneered. “And as much as you claim to hate your progenitor, he is no kin of yours, either.”

“I hate _Loki_ ,” Hela snapped. “I wish revenge on _Loki_ . I have no quarrel with his _children_.”

“Then you do not truly know the meaning of revenge,” Helblindi told her coldly, looking up again. They left their work and stalked over to Hela, towering over the smaller half-breed. “Revenge is wiping even the _memory_ of your enemy from the face of the realms, of extinguishing their life, their bloodline, their crowns and their titles. _Everything_ . When I am done no one will dare _speak_ the name Loki without fearing my wrath.”

Hela stood her ground. She was not afraid of Helblindi. The Jotun did not have power that came anywhere close to hers, and not been trained by the Eldest herself. Skuld had no doubt her ability to defend herself should Helblindi betray her.

“Do what you like to Loki,” Hela said, her voice soft but dangerous. “And I will assist you. But harm my _brother_ , I will take you to pieces.” She turned on her heel and went back to the basket, where the child was fully awake now, fretful and unhappy.

Hela stooped down and gathered the infant in her arms, cradling him carefully against her chest. Even through the blanket she could feel the deep cold emanating from his small body. He stared up at her with watery, blue eyes and, upon not recognizing her, immediately began to wail.

“Shh, little one, shh,” Hela whispered, bouncing him lightly. “No one is going to hurt you. Sister is here. Sister will take care of you.”

“You should get to work on the spell,” Helblindi called without looking around. “We are running short on time.”

Hela glared at Helblindi’s back. She would see to the spell in time. Right now, she had to find something for her brother to eat.


	17. And It's A Long Way Up When You Hit The Ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. I literally had tears in my eyes writing parts of this chapter. It was heavy. On the other hand, I am suuuuuuper excited for this story arc. Did I mention already that I've wanted to write this arc since I decided to turn this into a series? Because I have. And I cannot wait for all the tears and angst it's going to cause! *evil hand rubbing*

Darcy came to being cradled in someone’s arms. She wasn’t exactly sure who, but she couldn’t figure out which body she was in at the moment, either. She could see Yggdrasil crouched in front of her, one massive, twiggy hand resting over her chest.

 

IT IS NOT YET TIME FOR THAT, MOTHER, it said, giving her a look that managed to be stern without her actually seeing its face.

 

“Wha…?” Darcy mumbled. She felt spent and wrung out, and she had no memory of anything that had happened after Yggdrasil had told her that Elden was beyond its sight.

 

“You tried to start Ragnarok,” said the person who was holding Darcy. Darcy rolled her head back to look up at their face.

 

“Jane?” she asked, surprised.

 

The other woman looked down at Darcy, her expression sarcastic but her brown eyes worried. “Yeah. Your friend dragged me here pretty quick after you went nuclear. Apparently I was the only one who could stop you from going full-on Ragnarok. You know, being the  _ other _ half of Ragnarok. How do you feel?”

 

“Like a used-up tube of toothpaste,” Darcy muttered, not trying to sit up. Jane tightened her arms around Darcy in a brief hug.

 

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “Yggsa-Ygg… uh, your  _ friend _ told me what happened. Are you okay?”

 

Darcy turned her gaze to Yggdrasil, who was still crouched in front of her, lanky body folded up in a manner that should have been awkward, but wasn’t. “I’m going to find him,” she said firmly. “I don’t care what it takes. I’m getting my son back.”

 

WE WILL HELP YOU HOWEVER WE CAN, MOTHER, Yggdrasil replied, and rose to its feet. BUT BE WARNED, TRAVELLING TO ANOTHER DIMENSION IS NOT EASY, NOR WITHOUT DANGER.

 

Darcy did struggle to sit upright now, with Jane’s help. “I don’t care,” she said stubbornly. “I don’t  _ care _ . Whatever the cost. He’s my  _ son _ .”

 

Yggdrasil stared unblinkingly at Darcy for several silent moments. VERY WELL, it said simply. There was a blur of movement and then Darcy was falling upward. The next moment she was sitting on the floor beside the Well, Jane next to her with one arm still wrapped around her.

 

The door burst open and Loki flung himself down on his knees next to Darcy, snatching her up in his arms and pulling her against his chest. He buried his face against her hair and held her, his breaths coming dangerously close to sobs.

 

Darcy clung back at him just as hard. Whatever her connection to Jane and to Yggdrasil, she needed her lagsmaðr, now more than ever. Loki stroked her hair and Darcy could feel his hand was shaking.

 

“I felt--” he said, and then cut himself off. He took a deep, shuddery breath, and then asked in a low voice. “Is he gone, then?”

 

Darcy nodded, her forehead pressed to his clavicle. “Hela completed the spell,” she said in a muffled voice. “Yggdrasil can’t see him anymore.”

 

Loki trembled for a moment before gaining control of himself again. “We will find him,  _ elskede _ ,” he said, his voice dangerous.

 

“I know,” Darcy whispered back. She heard footsteps, and then Thor’s voice murmur quietly to Jane. Darcy was so full of her own fear and anxiety it was hard to separate her emotions from Jane, and she had the sudden realization that Jane was feeling everything that  _ she _ was, just as intensely. Jane was feeling Elden’s loss as if she was Elden’s mother.

 

Darcy felt intensely guilty for a moment. Yes, Jane had agreed to the procedure, but neither of them had really thought it through. What was it going to be like for them, bound together so intensely for the next four thousand years?

 

Darcy pushed that thought aside. She would deal with that later. She would deal with everything later. Right now she needed to find her son.

 

By the time they returned to the main solarium, Wyrd had returned with the rest of the norns. Embla was there, with Bree, and the youngest norn cried as she embraced Darcy. Helke had arrived without her lagsmaðr or daughter. Urd surprised Darcy by embracing her also, giving her a sympathetic smile as she pulled away.

 

Darcy took a deep breath before facing the last norn. This was the first time she was meeting Ingrit in this vessel. It had been over a thousand and a half years and countless vessels since she’d seen this sister, and to be honest, Darcy had no idea what to expect.

 

Ingrit was about Darcy’s own height, and currently in a Vanir vessel. Her straight, black hair was colored with streaks of red and purple. She was wearing a sleeveless white tunic and brown leather trousers with a matching vest. There were three rings of runes on her left arm, signifying her three lagsmaðr bonds. She wore a horned moon pendant around her neck held by a sunshine-yellow ribbon.

 

“Sigyn,” she said softly, holding out her hands. “I am so sorry for everything you have been through. I promise you, we will do everything we can to find your son.”

 

Darcy hugged her younger sister and held her tight. “Thank you for coming,” she replied. “I couldn’t do this without all of you.”

 

Ingrit pulled away but clasped Darcy’s hands tightly. “What do you need from us?”

 

“Hela was able to use the Tesseract to travel to a different dimension,” Darcy told her, and the room at large. “We have to find which one, and open a Way there.”

 

“How would that even be possible?” Steve spoke up from the back. Darcy did a doubletake. She had completely forgotten that her friend had followed her to the Well. “How many other dimensions  _ are _ there?”

 

“An infinite amount,” Wyrd told him. “Dimensions and realities stacked together like pages of a book, all existing in the same place, only vibrating at different frequencies, so they never touch. To travel from one to another…” She shook her head. “It would take a great deal of energy.”

 

“Which we have,” Darcy said, looking around the room. “Hela may have the Tesseract, but we have six norns, two gods, two super-soldiers, and the  _ goddamn universe _ on our side. We can do this. I know we can.”

 

Loki cleared his throat, and pulled out the scroll with the copied spell. “This spell,  _ if _ it is correct, does say specifically that it would open a doorway into a dimension most similar to ours.”

 

“ _ That’s _ a relief,” Darcy heard Bucky mutter under his breath. His head did the twitch thing, and he scowled at the floor.

 

“Can we adapt the spell?” Darcy demanded of Loki. “Use me to make the Way and use all of us to power it?”

 

Loki’s gaze canted sideways at Jane, who gave him a confused look back. “It would seem that the more people sharing the strain of opening the Way, the easier it becomes,” he admitted. “Did you not feel it, when we came here, how much easier it was?”

 

Darcy frowned. Honestly, she hadn’t. She’d been so focused on getting to the Well that everything else sort of fell by the wayside. “If you say so.”

 

Loki studied the spell in his hands for a moment, and then looked up again. “Yes. I believe I can do it.”

 

For the first time since she’d been told her son had been kidnapped, Darcy felt a stab of hope. Loki reached out and pulled her towards him again. He stooped to press a brief kiss to her forehead. “We  _ can _ do this,  _ elskede _ ,” he told her again.

 

Darcy pressed her face against his chest so no one would see her cry.

 

XxxXxxX

 

“No,” Loki said, frowning down the two inches that separated their heights. “Absolutely not.”

 

“You know, it’s not really your decision,” Rogers retorted, crossing his arms. “You’re going to need back-up. You have no idea what it is you’re walking into.”

 

“It will be a world not much different from ours,” Loki said stiffly. “So I think I will be quite prepared, thank you.”

 

“Why don’t you want me going with you?” Rogers demanded. “Do you not trust me?”

 

“Quite the contrary, Captain,” Loki replied. “I’ve come to believe you are infinitely trustworthy. Which is why you cannot come.”

 

Rogers frowned. “Run that by me again?”

 

Loki sighed in frustration. “To put it frankly, Captain, if you did come with us, and you were killed, Darcy would never forgive herself for putting you in harm’s way, and I would rather not saddle my wife with any more life-long guilt than she already carries.”

 

Rogers clenched his jaw mulishly. “That’s a load of crock. If I choose to go, whatever happens to me is on me, not Darcy.”

 

“Absolutely true,” Loki agreed. “But Darcy’s emotions are not always logical, and she has many of them, unfortunately, so I have learned to work around them. So no, you are not going with us.”

 

“Thor is going,” Rogers pointed out.

 

“Thor is my  _ brother _ ,” Loki returned. “And Elden is his heir. If he did  _ not _ go, he would never live down the shame.”

 

In an instant Rogers’ entire demeanor went from stubborn to boyishly earnest. “Darcy is one of my closest friends. She’s practically family. I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed behind.”

 

“Forgive me if I chose my wife’s well-being over your pride,” Loki said with a sniff.

 

“I’m going,” said Barnes from behind Loki.

 

Loki refused to show that he had been startled and stepped back from Rogers, half-turning so he could see both humans at the same time.  _ How _ was the mortal able to sneak up on him? Was he truly so distracted that his senses were that dulled?

 

“And what is  _ your _ argument?” Loki asked sardonically.

 

“I owe her,” Barnes replied. “Darcy. She… got me out. Free from the scepter. Can’t do much to pay her back.” His gray eyes didn’t quite meet Loki’s green ones. They kept sliding away every time he tried. He ended up scowling at the floor in front of Loki’s boots. “Can do this.”

 

Loki sighed again.  _ That _ he could not argue against. Repaying a debt was a concept he was intimately familiar with.

 

Rogers stepped forward, pointing at Barnes. “If he goes, I go,” he insisted.

 

“Captain--” Loki began.

 

“No,” Rogers interrupted. “Bucky and Darcy are my  _ family _ . You gotta understand that.”

 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. They were scheduled to begin the spell in less than half an hour. He did not have the time, energy, or desire to continue this discussion. “Fine,” he finally said with ill grace. “You can both come. But if you are killed it’s on your own heads.”

 

“When is it not?” Barnes asked, tilting his head to the side.

 

Loki didn’t bother replying. He turned on his heel and stalked past Rogers down the corridor. If they wanted to drag themselves along to what was likely a suicide mission, far be it from him to try to  _ save _ them. He was about to help open a Way to a completely separate dimension in which, even though the spell promised would be similar to theirs, literally  _ anything _ was possible. He had no intelligence, no reconnaissance, and no way to prepare for what was coming.

 

Loki was every bit the warrior his brother was. But while Thor preferred to charge into every conflict head-on, Loki took no risk except a calculated one, took no action without a meticulous plan. But in this he was forced to proceed blind for the first time in his life, and he could not say with certainty that he would be returning.

 

The dark shade of the thought hovered over him. Hela had made it infinitely clear her feelings towards him, and now she had found an ally in the youngest Laufeyson, who, if they did indeed know the truth, had just as much reason to hate him.

 

_ That _ thought did not sit well with Loki. Did Helblindi know the truth, after all? Did they know that Loki, too, was a Laufeyson?  _ No _ , Loki chided himself firmly. Laufey may have birthed him, but there was no doubt whose son he was. Whatever there lay between him and Odin, Loki would not deny the Allfather that title.  _ Odin _ had been the one who’d raised him, who awarded him the title of “prince” with pride on his face the day of his majority.  _ Odin _ was his father. For better or worse, Loki would always be an Odinson.

 

But that didn’t change the fact that Loki shared blood with the ones who had taken his son. Loki knew that, even after all of this, he would be completely incapable of harming Hela, any more than he was capable of harming any of his other daughters. But Helblindi? Would he be able to cut down his birth-sibling, if it came to it?

 

If it was necessary to save Elden, he would, he realized. Nothing, and no one, came before his children, except Darcy. And Darcy only because he knew there was nothing in this dimension, or any other, that would cause her to harm her own children.

 

So Loki had to steel himself to do what he must, to face his birth-sibling, to see the markings he himself bore, and to spill blood he shared, for the sake of his son.

 

Yes, Loki was  _ very _ certain, at this point, that he would not be returning from this mission.

 

He reached the chamber where his family waited and stood in the doorway for a moment. Darcy was seated on the floor, Sylvi in her lap. Astra and Gyda sat on one side of her, and Tyra, Kari, and Erika on the other. Darcy was speaking to them in a low voice. Fenris, who had been lying behind Darcy, got to his feet and trotted over to Loki, bumping his head against Loki’s hip.

 

Loki rested his hand on Fenris shoulder, and stooped to look his son in the eye. “You’ll take care of them,” he told Fenris, not really a question. “You’ll take care of your sisters.”

 

Fenris nodded solemnly, and then leaned forward to lick Loki’s chin. Loki scrubbed his hand through the thick fur around the wolf’s neck. “Yes, I will miss you, too,” he said softly. Then he dropped to one knee so he could circle his arms around Fenris’ neck. He had never told Darcy this, but Fenris’ creation had been a complete accident. Loki had been experimenting with several different spells and had been taken quite aback at the results. But he had never for a moment regretted it, and he loved Fenris as deeply as the rest of his children.

 

“Be brave,” he whispered to Fenris. “Be loyal, and honorable. Choose your battles wisely, and never promise anyone more than you are willing to give. Always pay your debts, and let no man tell you what you can not do.”

 

Fenris whined and wriggled out of Loki’s hold so he could see his father’s face. At the sight of Loki’s expression, he whined louder and lapped at Loki’s cheek. Loki took Fenris’ face in both hands.

 

“I am proud of you,” he said fiercely. “Never forget that.” He bent to place a kiss between Fenris eyes. Then he stood, and crossed the room to his wife and daughters, Fenris at his side.

 

Kari broke away from Darcy to hug his legs. He gently disentangled her and sat on the ground so he could hug her properly. After a moment she pulled away so she could sign,  _ you are leaving again? _

 

Loki nodded gravely and signed back.  _ We must _ .

 

_ I don’t want you to go _ , Kari protested.

 

_ We will bring Elden home, _ Loki told her.  _ Then all will be well _ .

 

_ You will never leave again _ ? Kari pushed.

 

Loki hesitated. He had no desire to lie to his daughter, but a kind lie was better than the truth.  _ Yes _ , he assured her.  _ I will never have to leave again _ .

 

Kari lunged forward and hugged his neck again. Loki held her to his chest, his throat suddenly tight. The others slowly separated from Darcy to hug and kiss him, to plead with him not to leave as they had plead with Darcy, to cry silent, secretive tears because a part of them was still afraid they’d be beaten for showing such weakness.

 

Loki could not show them how it broke his heart, how he impressed each of their faces to his memory, like a token he would wear into battle, how he would do anything in his power to keep them from the tragedy that he saw in their future, but at this point he knew it would be a choice between saving himself, or saving Elden, and he knew that was no choice at all.

 

Then the girls had to hug Darcy again, be kissed and petted and assured she would return. And she would. Loki would make sure of that. His children would not grow up without their mother. They were young, yet. In time they would lose their memories of him. Elden would be affected the least. He would never miss him at all. The children would heal and, with Darcy’s help, move on. It was not as if they did not have many people who would be more than willing to step into a fatherly role. Thor, at the very least. Rogers, just as likely.

 

His children would be well-cared for, he was certain of that. But it was harder than he would have liked to think that this would be the last he ever saw of them. When he could take the pain of it no longer, he took Darcy’s arm and helped her to her feet.

 

“It’s time,” he told her softly. “We must go.”

 

He watched Darcy switch from tearful mother to steely norn. She nodded back at him.

 

“Let’s go get our son,” she said.

 

XxxXxxX

 

Steve Rogers had always considered himself a city kid. He’d been born in Brooklyn, raised in the city, and had never gone further than Paramus until he’d joined the Army. And after spending two years in the European countryside, surrounded by trees and ruined farmland and mud, there had been a part of him that was happy to get back to the city, even if it was sixty-seven years later.

 

And then had come the Battle of New York, and SHIELD, and the next mission, and the one after that, on and on without rest, without getting a chance to really  _ adjust _ .

 

So now, jogging on the path that wound through hills and trees and rolling countryside, he didn’t think it was all that bad. It was quiet here, upstate. Isolated. No crowds of people to recognize him, no traffic, no light pollution. Just him and the team and the quiet.

 

He was pretty sure the novelty would wear off in a few months of having to commute into the city any time he needed to meet up with Stark, but he was gonna enjoy the honeymoon phase while it lasted.

 

This morning he’d decided to trade speed for distance, and kept a leisurely pace for the twenty or so miles he’d jogged so far. He’d started well before dawn, and even now he was pretty sure the only other team member who’d be up when he got back would be Vision.

 

Because, you know, he didn’t sleep.

 

Which was why he was surprised when he reached the facility, heading first to the kitchen for a glass of water, only to be accosted by Sam.

 

“ _There_ you are,” Sam said, grabbing Steve’s arm. “Why do you never take your cell phone when you go jogging? How the hell are we supposed to reach you when you’re two counties over?”

 

“I wasn’t two counties--what’s going on?” Steve interrupted himself to ask.

 

“Something’s going on in the gym,” Sam replied curtly, dragging Steve along through the newly-renovated facility.

 

“What _kind_ of something?” Steve demanded, allowing himself to be dragged.

 

“Dunno. Vis hasn’t been very chatty about it. Just said there was an anomaly.”

 

“Anomaly?” Steve echoed. “Anomaly of what?”

 

“Did you not hear me just say Vision wasn’t explaining? He just said to grab your ass and get you down there.”

 

“I’m sure he used those exact words,” Steve said sarcastically.

 

Natasha appeared from the direction of the gym. “Oh, good. You found him. What took you so long?”

 

“The Stars and Stripes here decided to jog all the way to  _ Niagra _ this morning,” Sam replied dryly.

 

“I told you not to call me that,” Steve huffed, pulling his arm out of Sam’s grip.

 

“Then repaint your shield,” Natasha shot back. “Chop chop, grandpa. Let’s go.”

 

Wanda and Vision were waiting in the gym when they arrived. Rhodes was in the city, getting the software updated on his suit, or Steve was sure he’d be here too.

 

At the sight of the three of them, Wanda clapped her hands excitedly. “You’re here! Good. It’s getting stronger!”

 

“ _ What’s _ getting stronger?” Steve demanded, irritable now as well as sweaty.

 

“That!” Wanda exclaimed, and pointed across the sparring pad, towards the storage room door. Steve looked.

 

“I don’t see anything,” he said with a frown.

 

“You don’t have the capability to see trans-dimensional energies,” Vision replied, his eyes fixed on the non-descript doorway. He was wearing a white button-up shirt and a maroon sweater vest, despite the fact he technically didn’t have to wear clothing, but he did to make the others comfortable, only shedding them for a mission, when he preferred to work in nothing but his synthetic skin. “Fascinating,” he added distantly, tilting his head.

 

“What do you mean, ‘trans-dimensional’?” Natasha demanded, coming to stand beside Vision.

 

“The energy emissions are not unlike the ones that Dr Foster recorded during the Convergence in London last year,” Vision said distractedly. “Anomalies in space-time.”

 

“Wait a second,” Sam said, raising one hand. “You’re saying there is an  _ anomaly _ . In space and time.  _ Here? _ ”

 

“I believe I just did, yes,” Vision replied.

 

“Great,” Sam muttered. “So how do we fix this?”

 

“I am tempted to say that we don’t,” Vision said, his eyes still fixed on whatever it was that only he and Wanda could see. “I would dearly like to see what happens next.”

 

“I’m sure you would, but I’m not sure that opening a wormhole inside the building is a fantastic idea,” Natasha said delicately. “What can we do to stop the anomaly from forming?”

 

“Oh, it’s far too late for that,” Vision said calmly. “There is no way we will have the equipment necessary before the anomaly if fully formed.”

 

“Okay, the last time a wormhole opened, we had a space army come out of it,” Steve pointed out. “I’m thinking we might need to suit up.”

 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed slowly. “Vis, Wanda, you keep an eye on things. We’re gonna grab our gear.”

 

“It’s so  _ pretty _ ,” Wanda said breathlessly, clasping her hands together under her chin. “Isn’t it?”

 

Vision nodded solemnly. “It is indeed, Wanda.”

 

“You kids have fun with that,” Sam said. He slapped Steve’s bicep a couple of times with the back of his hand. “Let’s go.”

 

It took Steve only seventeen minutes to grab his body armor, struggle his sweaty body into it, grab his shield, and get back to the gym. Natasha, of course, beat him there, standing at an angle to Wanda and Vision. 

 

Steve stared hard at the door and, now that he was really looking, he could almost see… something. It was as if there were flashes of light glimmering at the edge of his vision. Something not quite there but still pushing through.

 

Sam jogged into the gym a moment later, wearing his sleeveless body armor without the wing-pack. He had his pair of Steyr SPP submachine guns, one in his hand and the other holstered on his back. Wanda and Vision, of course, didn’t need any weapons.

 

“Status report?” Natasha barked, one hand resting on the Glock 26 holster on her right thigh.

 

“It’s still getting stronger,” Wanda said, sounding more fascinated than cautious. “There’s no way of telling how strong it will get.”

 

“Strong enough to let something through?” Steve asked.

 

“Oh, entirely possible,” Vision confirmed, sounding unconcerned. But that was completely normal for him. Vision never got excited about anything.

 

Steve strode over and positioned himself in front of Wanda, shield raised. Sam stood on his right so as not to block Vision, and Natasha took up a position to Vision’s left. For several tense minutes they waited, and nothing happened. Then Wanda gasped.

 

“Oh,” Vision said at the same time. “I believe the wormhole is stable, now.”

 

Steve  _ still _ couldn’t see anything, just an odd shimmer in the air in front of the storage door. He squinted at it, trying in vain to get a glimpse at what Vision and Wanda were seeing, when the shimmer  _ flexed _ somehow, like the atoms in the door were stretching, and then…

 

Thor stepped out of thin air striding a few paces forward before coming to a halt. He surveyed the team gathered in front of him with a confused expression, his gaze lingering on Vision. Steve noticed that Thor was wearing different armor than the last time he’d seen the Asgardian, just a few weeks ago.

 

Steve lowered his shield. “You know, if you were dropping by, you coulda warned us, instead of coming through the back door,” he said dryly.

 

Thor looked around, as if seeing the room for the first time. “I… apologize,” he said, sounding uncertain. “I did not realize I was coming… here.”

 

Natasha stepped forward, her hand still resting on the grip of her handgun. “Thor, is everything okay?” she asked, and something in her voice set warning bells off in Steve’s head.

 

Thor looked around again, then at each member of the team, quite intensely. “No,” he said. “Not… precisely. I feel I must explain--”

 

Before he could finish, the wormhole behind him  _ flexed _ again, and another figure stepped through.

 

“ _ Shit _ ,” Sam blurted, and twisted to stare at Steve.

 

Steve himself was staring at, well,  _ himself _ . The other man was wearing body armor very similar to his, carrying a shield  _ exactly _ like his, and Steve recognized his own face, despite the helmet and cowl.

 

“Well, fuck,” said the other Steve Rogers. “I guess they weren’t kidding when they said ‘similar to ours.’”

 

“That was indeed my own thoughts,” Thor agreed.

 

The other Steve reached up and unbuckled his helmet, pulling to off. It was like staring into a mirror in a very strange dream. It was his reflection, but it was not doing what it was supposed to do.

 

“Who the  _ hell _ are you?” Steve demanded, raising his shield again.

 

The other Steve raised his eyebrows. “Uh… I think that’s kinda obvious,” he said awkwardly.

 

“It’s either a clone, or an evil robot,” Sam said. “I’m going with evil robot.”

 

Other Steve smiled faintly. “It’s neither, actually. It’s just, um, what do you guys know about alternate dimensions?”

 

“Of course,” Vision said softly, just as the wormhole  _ flexed _ a third time.

 

Steve felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. “ _ Bucky _ ,” he whispered before he could stop himself. It was Bucky, with the same long hair and scruffy stubble as the last time he’d seen him, but instead of leather and an armory’s worth of weapons, Bucky was wearing a black, long-sleeved Asgardian tunic, a leather lace-up vest, and a assault rifle slung on a strap over his shoulder. There were six knives sheathed at his waist and left thigh, and a sidearm on his right thigh.

 

Bucky met his gaze across the room, his eyebrows arching upwards. He turned to the other Steve. “Weird,” he said, his head twitching to the side.

 

“Tell me about it,” Other Steve muttered back.

 

“Define ‘alternate dimension’,” Natasha said sharply, shaking Steve out of his shock.

 

“Well, it’s quite obvious,” Vision said, turning to the much-shorter woman. “The wormhole  _ is _ emitting trans-dimensional energies. It is clearly connecting two realities together.”

 

“Not helping, Vis,” Sam cut in.

 

“An alternate reality,” Vision repeated. “Another earth, similar, but slightly altered somehow, caused by shifts in timelines where events occurred differently. Einstein theorized there was an infinite number of them. The Multiverse Theory. Surely you’ve heard of it.”

 

“I was an Airman, not a physicist,” Sam snapped.

 

“Your--uh--your friend’s not wrong,” Other Steve said, eying Vision strangely. “We did come from another reality.”

 

“How?” Steve demanded. “And  _ why _ ?”

 

“Uh,” Other Steve said, just before Loki exited the wormhole behind him.

 

“ _ Shit! _ ” Sam yelped again, snapping his machine gun up. Other Steve stepped in front of Loki before Sam could fire, raising his shield.

 

“Just hold on!” Other Steve called. “We can explain!”

 

“It better be a damn good explanation,” Steve said grimly, taking two steps forward. “Why the hell would you bring _him_ here?”

 

“Whatever crimes your Loki committed in this dimension, my brother is not to blame,” Thor rumbled, stepping forward as well. He gestured with the hand that held Mjolnir. “Loki,  _ this _ Loki, is not your enemy.”

 

The Loki that was standing behind Thor and Other Steve did not look like the Loki that had attacked New York. His hair was shorter, for starters, and he was not wearing armor, just simple garments in green and black, trimmed with gold. There was no madness in his eyes, which were green, despite Steve distinctly remembering Loki’s eyes to be  _ blue _ . He also held his hands up , palm forward, at shoulder height.

 

“I assure you, I mean no one any harm,” he said, his voice just loud enough to be heard.

 

“Because we’d actually believe that, after what you did,” Natasha said harshly.

 

“Not what  _ he _ did,” Vision corrected, turning to look down at Natasha again. “This Loki is not the same one that attacked New York. This one is from an alternate reality. In that timeline he may be innocent. This Thor seems to think so.”

 

“Why are you here?” Steve demanded again. “What was so damn important you had to come to a different  _ reality _ ?”

 

“The infant prince of Asgard, second in line to the throne, was kidnapped not two days ago,” Thor said, sending Vision another confused look. “We believe his kidnappers brought him here, to escape the wrath of his mother.”

 

“Infant prince?” Natasha echoed. “Are you saying  _ your _ \--”

 

“Mine,” Loki snapped, his eyes flashing. “ _ My _ son.”

 

For a moment everyone stared at Loki, too shocked to say anything. Then the wormhole  _ flexed _ a fifth time. This time it was no one Steve recognized, a petite woman with dark brown hair pinned up in a complicated braid. She was wearing a purple silk shirt and a white leather vest, both obviously Asgardian. She stumbled forward and had to be caught by Loki, who gently kept her on her feet.

  
The woman looked around, catching sight of the team of Avengers. “So, I guess it worked,” she said in a decidedly un-Asgardian accent. She stopped and stared at Vision for a long moment. “Who the hell are  _ you _ ?” she demanded.


	18. How Come I've Never Seen Your Face Around Here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello children. Let me tell you a tale of a little girl who is entirely too old for this shit that let her mental illnesses overtake her life for several weeks, and her beautiful and intelligent mother who finally kicked her ass into gear and convinced her to seek out professional help again for the first time in eight years. 
> 
> It's me. I'm talking about me. I got low, as Dr Banner would say. I lost interest in doing anything that wasn't basic survival functions. I stopped eating, sleeping, showering (ew), or doing anything that wasn't "go to work" and "don't screw up at work."
> 
> So yeah. I haven't posted in a while. Sorry :/

Darcy stood with the Way behind her and Loki beside her. She could honestly say this was  _ not _ what she had been expecting. The spell had said  _ similar dimension _ . It hadn’t said  _ alternate reality _ . Because that was what she was looking at, different version of Steve, Sam, Natasha,  _ Wanda _ of all people, and whoever the hell the purple guy was.

 

Seriously, he was giving her the creeps. She didn’t try to read people on purpose but she still picked up little things. But this guy was giving her  _ nothing _ . It was like he wasn’t even alive. When Darcy reached out her senses towards him, actively  _ trying _ to read him, there was still nothing. She got no more from him than she would from an easy chair.

 

“Who the hell are  _ you _ ?” Darcy demanded.

 

The purple man stared at her, unblinking. Darcy didn’t even think he was breathing at all. “Considering  _ you _ came into  _ our _ dimension, I think we should be asking that question,” he said in a very familiar voice.

 

Darcy’s eyes widened. “ _ Why _ do you sound like Jarvis?” Darcy continued. She elbowed Loki. “I’m not crazy, right? He sounds like Jarvis?”

 

“He does,” Loki agreed tightly. Darcy looked up at him and realized how tense he was. Clearly something had happened just prior to her arrival. She’d had to come last, of course, to ensure the Way was stable. She could still feel it behind her, a comforting connection to her own dimension. 

 

Steve,  _ her _ Steve, broke the ensuing silence. “Why don’t we all just take a minute, relax, and let us explain what’s going on,” he offered.

 

“Please do,” the other Steve said, pulling his shield off his arm and affixing it to the harness on his back. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave Loki a baleful look. “Why don’t you start with why someone would kidnap  _ Loki’s _ kid.”

 

“How about  _ why _ Loki has a kid in the first place,” Sam added. He didn’t lower his submachine gun.

 

“I have nine children, actually,” Loki snapped at him. “The one taken is the youngest.”

 

Darcy would have found the expressions they were given in reply comical if it hadn’t been so, you know,  _ insulting _ .

 

“ _ Nine _ ?” Sam sputtered.

 

“That’s not the important thing right now,” Darcy spoke up, stepping forward to stand beside her Steve. “The important thing is finding Elden before it’s too late.”

 

Other Steve frowned at her. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

 

Darcy debated for a moment. Should she give them her real name, or her vessel’s name? Which would be simpler? Which would require less explanation?

 

“My name is Sigyn, of the Sisterhood of the Norns,” Darcy said, ignoring Steve’s startled twitch. “I’m the mother of the child that was kidnapped.”

 

Darcy saw Sam, other Steve, and Natasha look quickly between her and Loki and back. No one said anything for a moment. Then she felt a presence probe at the edge of her mental shields, very cautiously. If Darcy hadn’t been a norn she probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

 

She turned to look at Wanda. “Please don’t do that without permission,” she said, keeping her voice free of irritation or anger. “I have enough people in my head as it is.”

 

Wanda blinked at her in surprise, and the probe withdrew. “You are telepathic?” the Sokovian woman asked, stepping forward. The purple man reached out and gently grabbed her elbow, pulling her back.

 

“Sort of,” Darcy said with a shrug. “Enough to notice when someone else is. If you’re looking to see if we’re trustworthy, I’d be happy to accommodate you. But I don’t think you’d like what you saw if you forced your way in.”

 

“If you have the ability to sense my presence, you have the ability to deceive me,” Wanda pointed out.

 

“I do not,” Thor said, tilting his head in Wanda’s direction. “If it will help you to trust us, take what you need from my mind.”

 

Wanda glanced at the other Steve, who hesitated a moment before nodding tightly. Wanda turned back to face Thor, her eyes going out of focus. There was a long, silent moment, and then Wanda shivered, stepping closer to the purple man.

 

“He’s telling the truth,” she announced. “Loki’s son was kidnapped. That’s the only reason they are here.”

 

Other Steve hesitated another moment, then stepped forward. “You’d better tell us the whole story,” he said.

 

Darcy glanced over at her Steve, peripherally aware that the rest of her team were doing the same. Steve looked around at them and sighed. Darcy poked him in the side. “They trust  _ you _ ,” she muttered at him.

 

He batted her hand away with an annoyed look and turned to the residents of the alternate universe. “Okay, well, uh, I’m not sure what happened here, but in our universe, SHIELD turned out to be a cover for Hydra,” he began.

 

“Yeah. Happened here, too,” Sam interrupted impatiently. He had lowered his machine gun but had not holstered it. “Get to the good stuff.”

 

Steve glared mildly at Sam for a moment. “We’ve spent the last two years hunting down the last remnants of Hydra, and managed to recover the sc--the Mind Stone. It was lost during the fall of SHIELD. But Stark Tower was attacked by an alien named Hela, who took the Stone. She was working with another alien named Helblindi, who attacked Loki and… _ Sigyn’s _ … residence at the same time, kidnapping Elden and stealing the Tesseract. We believe Hela and Helblindi brought Elden and the Stones here.”

 

The purple man tilted his head to the side. “Excuse me,” he said softly in his Jarvis-like voice. “I just have a few questions. You said that this Hela stole the Mind Stone, but that Loki had committed no crimes. How did SHIELD get custody of the Mind Stone? Also, why was the Tesseract being stored at Loki’s residence? That does not seem very secure.”

 

“The attack on New York happened,” Darcy said, stepping to Steve’s side. “Loki just wasn’t responsible for it. And the Tesseract wasn’t at our house. It’s not like I just kept it around my kids. There was a portal in our basement that led to another realm.  _ That’s _ where the Tesseract was being kept.”

 

“A portal,” Sam said flatly. “In your basement.”

 

“Yeah,” Darcy replied. “I make portals. It’s kinda my superpower.”

 

There was a moment of silence while the others looked at each other. Wanda pointed to the Way behind Darcy. “Did you make that portal?” she asked curiously.

 

“Yes,” Darcy said, nodding.

 

“Fascinating,” said the purple man. “May I ask how?”

 

“That’s not important right now,” Natasha said, raising her voice. She turned to look at Steve. “So I’m assuming the Ultron event didn’t occur in your universe?”

 

“No,” Steve said firmly, looking down at Darcy. “Stark shut Ultron down before it became an issue.”

 

“I think the big question is why Hela and… Helblindi?” Other Steve frowned at Darcy’s Steve for confirmation on his pronunciation, then continued. “Why they want the Infinity Stones, how they crossed over to this reality, and what they want to do now.”

 

“ _ How _ isn’t hard,” Darcy said. “They used a combination of the Tesseract and magic. What they want is pretty simple, too. They want to kill Loki.”

 

Loki grunted and Darcy looked back at him. His face was set in a surly scowl. He certainly wasn’t helping convince the others he wasn’t actually a supervillain. Darcy elbowed him in the stomach.

 

“I can think of a few reasons why  _ I’d _ want to kill Loki,” Natasha said dryly. “What do these two have against him?”

 

Darcy waited to see if Loki was going to answer. When he continued scowling silently, she sighed. “Loki killed Helblindi’s father Laufey, king of Jotunheim, and I killed Hela’s foster mother Skuld, and Hela is blaming Loki for it.” When Natasha gave her a skeptical look, Darcy crossed her arms. “We had good reasons, trust me.”

 

“Still, coming to a whole other universe seems a bit like overkill, doesn’t it?” asked the guy who sounded like Jarvis.

 

“Not… really,” Thor said, staring at the purple man for a long moment. “They sought to cut Sigyn off from the source of her power to give them the advantage.”

 

“Why? What’s so special about the girl?” Sam demanded, frowning at Darcy.

 

“She is a  _ norn _ ,” Loki snarled abruptly, stepping forward. Sam snapped his submachine gun up again, aiming at Loki’s un-armored chest. “You will address her with respect or you will lose your tongue.”

 

“Whoa,  _ angan _ ,” Darcy said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. “Chill. They clearly don’t know what a norn is, okay?  _ Relax _ .”

 

“The norns are ancient goddesses of wisdom,” Thor explained. “They enforce fate, enact justice, and guard the secrets of the universe. Sigyn, in particular, is the Mother of the Ways, and she has a… unique… relationship with Yggdrasil.”

 

Darcy waved awkwardly. “Hi.”

 

The others stared at her skeptically for several moments. Darcy scowled back at them. “Okay, it’s not like I look  _ that _ unimpressive,” she said sharply.

 

Other Steve shook his head. “Okay. Clearly the best option is for us to find these people you’re looking for. The sooner they’re found, the sooner you guys can go back where you came from.”

 

“Sounds like a plan,” Darcy announced, letting go of Loki’s arm. “Can you at least  _ try _ to behave?” she asked him in the First Tongue.

 

“She is right, brother,” Thor added in the same language. “It would be best if you were civil.”

 

“I am not a child to be told how to act,” Loki snapped back at both of them. “Leave me be.”

 

Steve looked over his shoulder at them. “Guys? Might wanna stick to English for now.”

 

“Sorry,” Darcy said, scowling at Loki. He glared back but reached out and put his hand on her lower back to escort her away from the Way.

 

The other Avengers led them to a conference room with a long table and a large screen. No one immediately moved toward the chairs, until Darcy rolled her eyes and sat down. Opening the Way to another dimension had wiped her out, and she was glad to get off her feet. Now if she could only get something to eat and a nap…

 

A thought occurred to her and she rolled up her sleeve, revealing her forearm. Then she summoned a long, silver pin from her pocket dimension and started to scratch at her arm. Steve, who was standing behind her chair next to Loki, leaned down over her shoulder.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding mildly alarmed.

 

“Letting Jane know we’re okay,” Darcy answered as she finished scratching the letters “A OK” in the tender skin of her inner arm.

 

“Those marks will show up on her arm, too, right?” Steve asked.

 

“Yup,” Darcy replied, vanishing the pin. There was a few seconds wait, and then three welts appeared on her arm next to her message in the form of a smiley face. “See?” Darcy said, showing it to Steve.

 

“That’s weird,” Steve told her. 

 

“Weird is relative,” Bucky said, surprising all of them. He had barely spoken a word since they’d arrived and had managed to completely blend into the background. Darcy wasn’t sure if that was due to Bucky’s abilities, or her lack of awareness.

 

Steve gave Bucky a questioning look, and the sniper nodded towards the door, where the other Avengers were gathered, speaking quietly amongst themselves. “ _ That’s _ weird,” Bucky continued.

 

“True,” Steve agreed.

 

Loki huffed impatiently and reached down to brush his fingers across Darcy’s arm. The welts vanished into smooth, pale skin. “Please try to keep that method of communication to a minimum,” he told her curtly.

 

“Oh, do you have any other means of communicating to a different dimension?” Darcy asked sharply.

 

Steve looked between the two of them for a moment. “Are you guys… okay?” 

 

“Yes,” Loki and Darcy both said at the same time, not looking at each other.

 

“Because you know, it’s okay if you’re not… okay,” Steve went on. “In your position I don’t think anyone would be.”

 

Darcy took a deep breath and rubbed her hands down her face. “We’re just on edge. Sorry.”

 

Steve squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “We’re gonna get your kid back, Darce. I promise.”

 

“I know,” Darcy said softly. She looked up at her friend and offered him a weak smile. “Thanks, Steve.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Darcy must have dozed off because she startled awake when she heard an unfamiliar voice at the doorway. She lifted her head from her arms and saw Tony’s friend, Colonel Rhodes, standing talking to Other Steve and the purple man whose name they still hadn’t gotten. 

 

“I leave for a couple of hours and this happens,” Rhodes was saying. “It’s just like Tony said. No adult supervision.”

 

“Not exactly our fault,” Other Steve said dryly. “They just kinda appeared.”

 

“Alright. Well, Tony’s on his way with the equipment in a chopper. Should be here in ten minutes. What’s our first move, Cap?”

 

“Try to get a bead on where the hostiles came through,” Other Steve said. “If Vision was able to detect  _ this _ doorway, he should be able to detect the other. Right?” Here he turned to the purple man, and Darcy filed that information away. His name was Vision, apparently.

 

“I should be able to, yes,” the purple man nodded.

 

“All right then,” Rhodes said, and looked through the doorway at Darcy’s team, his gaze lingering on Steve, who was now seated at the head of the table, leaning back in his chair. “That is so  _ bizarre _ .”

 

“How do you think  _ I _ feel?” Other Steve quipped.

 

Natasha appeared at that moment, holding a tablet. “You need to look at this,” she said crisply, handing it to Steve.

 

Darcy turned to look at Loki, who was sitting next to her, his elbow propped on the table and his chin propped on his hand. “How long was I out for?” she asked softly.

 

“Half an hour, no more,” he replied. He looked slightly less antagonistic than he had before. Darcy wondered if Thor had talked to him. Thor was leaning against a glass wall, Mjolnir on the floor by his feet. Bucky was standing behind Steve’s chair, arms crossed, looking menacing despite Darcy not picking up any aggressive vibes from him.

 

She turned back to face the door when Other Steve and Natasha entered the conference room again, both of them with dark expressions.

 

“Why did you lie to us?” Other Steve demanded, setting the tablet on the table. He slid it towards Darcy.

 

“I didn’t lie to you,” Darcy protested, pulling the tablet towards her. “Oh.” The tablet displayed a picture of herself, wearing plastic-framed glasses and a chunky sweater, along with a list of basic information like her birth date, address, occupation, and a few other facts that were no longer accurate.

 

“Your name is Darcy Lewis,” Other Steve said, pointing at the tablet. “Why did you tell us your name was Sigyn?”

 

“Because it  _ is _ ,” Darcy insisted. “I am Sigyn, and I am Darcy. Darcy is a vessel for the entity known as Sigyn. Darcy is human, Sigyn is a norn. I’m both people, and they both make up me.”

 

Other Steve and Natasha stared at her for a long moment. “So, you’re talking about symbiosis?” Natasha finally asked.

 

Darcy put the tablet down and pushed it back towards Other Steve. “Exactly. Sigyn is a symbiont that is contained by Darcy. Darcy has been Sigyn’s vessel Darcy’s whole life.”

 

“So the abilities you were talking about earlier, those come from Sigyn?” Other Steve pressed.

 

“Yup,” Darcy nodded, rubbing her eyes.

 

“And Sigyn is an alien entity?” Natasha pressed. “Embedded somewhere in your body?”

 

“What?” Darcy yelped, dropping her hands. “No!  _ Gross _ . Sigyn is a spiritual entity. A memory and power and personality that’s passed from vessel to vessel upon the previous vessel’s death. It’s not like she’s some kind of brain worm or something. Ew.”

 

Loki shifted just slightly, angling his body towards Darcy in a way that told her he was ready to go to her defense at a moment’s notice. She put her hand on his thigh to warn him back, but he didn’t relax.

 

“Do you have any kind of proof of what you’re saying?” Natasha asked.

 

“Proof?” Darcy said skeptically. “Like, do you want to talk to Sigyn?”

 

Other Steve and Natasha exchanged a look. “Who have we been talking to up to this point?” Other Steve asked slowly.

 

“Darcy,” Darcy replied, equally slowly. “I’m usually mostly Darcy. Sigyn comes out in emergencies.”

 

Other Steve nodded. “Yeah. Why don’t you let us talk to Sigyn?”

 

Darcy sighed and took a deep breath, withdrawing from her senses and letting Sigyn switch places. She blinked and the norn was in place. “If your intent is to waste time, you are doing an admirable job, Captain Rogers,” Sigyn said in an annoyed tone.

 

Natasha’s eyebrows arched upwards and Other Steve stepped back. “Either you’re telling the truth,” Natasha said, “Or you have some amazing acting skills. Even your microexpressions are different.”

 

“I do not make a habit of lying without purpose, Agent Romanoff,” Sigyn snapped. “While you are standing here questioning me, my enemies  _ still _ have my son.”

 

“ _ Your  _ son?” Natasha questioned. “How does that work out?”

 

“The vessel and I are different aspects of the same person,” Sigyn replied impatiently. “The children of the vessel are also my children. I do not appreciate these delays while my son is in danger.”

 

“Remember your own words,  _ elskede _ ,” Loki murmured beside her, placing his hand over hers still resting on her thigh.

 

Sigyn glanced sidelong at him and pressed her lips together. She exhaled noisily and looked back at Natasha and Other Steve. “Your assistance in recovering my son would be appreciated,” she said stiffly.

 

“Yes, very convincing,” Loki said flatly.

 

“I did not ask your opinion,” Sigyn retorted.

 

Loki snorted, more amused than insulted. He interlaced his fingers with hers, and she allowed it. She was worried about Elden the same as he was, and the contact was comforting. There was a physical ache in her chest from anxiety. She was not accustomed to that emotion. She was accustomed to being in control. But here, in another universe, so far from the seat of her power… she felt helpless. And she needed her lagsmaðr more than ever.

 

Other Steve looked over at the Steve from her universe. “You know about all of this?” he asked.

 

Steve nodded. “Yeah,” he replied. “Darcy’s already told me all of this, years ago.”

 

Other Steve glanced at Bucky. “How about you?”

 

Bucky shrugged. “I met her a few days ago. She saved my life. Other than that, don’t care.”

 

Other Steve nodded. “Okay. Uh, We’ll roll with that for now.”

 

Vision stepped through the wall into the room as if the wall didn’t even exist, making everyone from Sigyn’s universe jump, including the norn. The shock of it switched personalities, and Darcy blurted, “Holy  _ shit _ .”

 

Virion gave her a mild, unblinking expression, and then turned to Other Steve. “Mr Stark has just arrived.”

 

“Oh,  _ lovely _ ,” Loki said dryly. He tilted his head towards her. “Darcy?”

 

“Yup, I’m back,” Darcy confirmed.

 

“That’s a relief,” Steve muttered. “No offense, Darce, but I don’t like Sigyn very much.”

 

“She’s a bitch,” Darcy said, nodding. “I get it.”

 

Natasha and Other Steve gave them all strange looks and left with Vision.

 

Loki squeezed her hand. “How are you holding on?” he asked in the First Tongue.

 

Darcy took a deep, shuddering breath. “I am barely holding it together,  _ angan _ .”

 

“You are strong, Darcy,” Loki reminded her. “Stay strong for Elden.”

 

She nodded back.

 

“Okay,” Stark announced as he breezed into the room. “This is officially going to be Steve 2, also known as ‘Hey You,’ because at some point we  _ are _ going to get them mixed up. Also, am I the only one concerned about the fact Loki is  _ not _ restrained right now?”

 

“It’s good to see that some things don’t change no matter what universe you’re in,” the newly dubbed Steve 2 said wryly.

 

“We don’t have any reason to assume that this Loki is in any way a threat, Mr Stark,” Vision explained. “We do have the word of Thor and of Captain Rogers.”

 

“But not  _ our _ Thor and  _ our _ Rogers,” Stark protested. He was wearing a gray hoodie over a Rolling Stones t-shirt and a pair of black loose-fitting pants, the kind he wore under the Ironman suits. He had a pair of yellow-tinted glasses on that, upon closer inspection, were streaming data like a miniature HUD.

 

“Your versions of Thor and Captain Rogers would not be able to vouch for me,” Loki said acerbically. “Seeing as they know nothing about me.”

 

“Smartass in  _ both _ universes. Figures,” Stark snorted.

 

“Do you have anything useful to contribute or are you just going to stand there and make snarky remarks?” Darcy demanded. She was in no mood to put up with  _ another _ Stark’s hostility towards Loki, not when Elden was in danger.

 

“And  _ you _ ,” Stark continued, not missing a beat. “The mysterious mother of Loki’s child. I gotta ask, what do you see in him? Is it the ego, or the outfits? Maybe it’s his sparkling personality.”

 

“You would do well to watch your tongue,” Thor growled before either Darcy or Loki could respond. “ _ You _ are not my friend, and if you continue to provoke my brother, I will be happy to count you as an enemy.”

 

Stark blinked and stared at Thor for a few seconds. “Wow. Okay.  _ Harsh _ . Don’t mess with Loki or we’ll get the business end of the warhammer. Duly noted. And I  _ do _ have useful things to contribute, FYI. Vis!”

 

The purple man (whom Darcy still wanted to question as to why he sounded like Jarvis) stepped back into the room carrying a briefcase. “Yes, Mr Stark?”

 

“Give me that and round up the others,” Stark ordered. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

 

“Yes, Mr Stark,” Vision said with a long-suffering expression. He set the briefcase on the table and turned to walk straight through the wall again.

 

“Uh,  _ how _ exactly is he doing that?” Steve 2 asked, straightening in his chair.

 

Stark looked up. “Wait. Do you guys not have Vision in your universe?”

 

“No,” Darcy, Steve, and Thor said all at once.

 

Stark frowned. “So… did Ultron not happen or something?”

 

“No,” Steve said firmly.

 

Stark looked around at them for a minute. “Okay. Strange. What happened?”

 

Steve nodded toward Darcy. “Darcy figured out it was going to go pear-shaped before our Stark activated the program.”

 

Stark gave Darcy a baleful look. “And just  _ how _ did she figure out it was going to go pear-shaped?” he demanded.

 

Darcy bared her teeth in an expression not at all a smile. “I can see the future.”

 

Stark narrowed his eyes at her. “Bullshit.”

 

Darcy shrugged. “I don’t have to prove anything to you.” Stark opened his mouth. Darcy held a hand up to fend him off. “ _ No _ , I can’t see your future. It only works in my universe.”

 

“What a coincidence,” Stark said sarcastically.

 

The others began to arrive. Sam looked no less suspicious, but at least he wasn’t carrying two submachine guns anymore.

 

“Vis has already filtered through all the data picked up by the satellite network in the last thirty-six hours,” Stark announced, opening his briefcase and pulling out a Starkphone that was little more than a credit-card sized piece of transparent plastic. He tapped it a couple of times and a map appeared on the large screen. Darcy didn’t recognize the area.

 

“Yes, it appears as if the other transdimensional portal was opened right outside of Schenectady, New York,” Vision advised. “It remained open for approximately eight minutes, and then closed again.”

 

“How is it this portal here is able to stay open and the other is not?” Wanda spoke up, raising her hand as if she was in school.

 

“I do not know,” Vision replied and turned to look expectantly at Darcy.

 

“They were made differently,” Darcy explained. “When I make a portal, it’s permanent until I dismantle it. The method Hela and Helblindi used harnesses the Tesseract with magic. It’s too unstable to form a permanent connection.”

 

“Because  _ that’s _ exactly what we need,” Steve 1 muttered, crossing his arms. “Another psychopath figuring out how to use the Cube. That always ends well.”

 

Darcy frowned but she glanced over at her Steve, who gave her an apologetic look. “He’s not wrong,” he said.

 

“Whatever,” Darcy said, waving a hand in front of her face.

 

“In any case,” Vision continued, unperturbed at the interruption. “It appears that the transdimensional energies linger on those who pass through the portals, as we have confirmed on our guests here. So we were able to track the two hostiles, Hela and Helblindi. They are currently on the move, travelling northbound on Highway 87.”

 

“Traveling  _ how _ ?” Thor spoke up. “Neither of them know how to operate a car.”

 

“We haven’t actually been able to get a clear satellite image of them,” Stark admitted. “As soon as we think we’ve got them pinned down, they pop up somewhere else.”

 

“Both of them are skilled sorcerers,” Loki said in a flat voice. “Hela was trained by the Eldest norn. She is particularly crafty.”

 

“Apparently your technology here works similar enough to ours for Hela to be able to mess with it,” Darcy said with a grimace. “She was able to screw around with satellites on earth before.”

 

“We still have the tracking program you and Banner worked on before New York, right?” Steve 1 asked Stark.

 

“Yeah, why?” Stark asked.

 

“Why aren’t we using that?” Steve 1 asked.

 

“Because the Tesseract is not giving off any readings, Captain,” Vision explained. “The hostiles are shielding it somehow.”

 

“Awesome,” Sam said, speaking up for the first time. “So we can’t get a satellite image, can’t track the Cube, and don’t know how they’re moving. What  _ do _ we know?”

 

“That they are  _ hostile _ , they have an Infinity Stone, and they have kidnapped a child,” Wanda told him sharply. “Is that not enough?”

 

Sam looked like he wanted to reply, thought better of it, and then said nothing.

 

Steve 1 pressed his lips together. “Okay. Let’s make a game plan.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Their first goal was to gain as much distance between them and the landing site as possible. Anyone with a small amount of intelligence and a few scraps of technology would have been able to detect the opening portal, and it would have been imminently stupid to remain in the area. 

 

Finding transportation had not been particularly difficult. They had landed close to a way station full of transport vehicles, and it had taken Hela very little effort to craft a spell that would force the vehicle operator into a trance where he would be susceptible to suggestions. 

 

They were alone on the transport vehicle, which gave them the opportunity to plan their next move. Helblindi sat in the front of the vehicle, books and papers and casting objects scattered around them, occasionally muttering and scratching notes on whatever was closest.

 

Hela had claimed the back of the vehicle, as far away from Helblindi as possible. She did not trust the Frost Giant. Not after they deviated so wildly from the plan. She would continue to work with the  _ smárfolk _ , but she would keep them at arm’s length.

 

Elden lay in his basket, dozing fretfully. His mask had been disintegrated by contact with Helblindi, and Hela did not have the knowledge to restore it. He’d grown hot and discontented soon after their arrival in this dimension, so Hela had removed his clothes and kept him covered by a cool, damp blanket. Nothing she did could make him happy, so she settled for keeping him quiet. Whenever he cried, Helblindi gave him a look that Hela did not like.

 

Hela had not expected to become the caretaker for her infant brother. She knew of his existance, of course, but she had cared little before. Now she was confronted by the reality that she was  _ not _ alone in the universe. She did have blood relatives. A brother, a father… a mother. 

 

In the darkest, most silent moments of the night, safe in the depths of her own mind, Hela wondered about her mother. Was she a sorceress too? What was she like? Was she beautiful? Why had she given her infant child up to Skuld to be raised? Each question raised ten new ones, keeping Hela’s thoughts spinning in circles.

 

Her mother’s name was Angrboda. That much she knew, if Loki could be trusted. Angrboda had had nothing to do with Skuld’s death. Perhaps, if Hela was successful, if she made it back to her own universe, perhaps Angrboda might welcome her with more affection than Loki had. 

 

The cold voice of Skuld’s memory chided her fiercely, reminding her that she was mixed-blood, a bastard, and that no one would want her, not after the things she had done. There was no one in the universe, any of them, that cared for her the way Skuld had. No one else that would accept her for who she was.

 

Elden whimpered and opened his blue eyes, wriggling under his damp blanket. He gathered the fabric up in his fists and stuffed it in his mouth, sucking furiously.

 

“No, don’t do that, little brother,” Hela crooned, pushing all other thoughts aside. She reached down and gently pulled the fabric free. “Are you hungry? Look was sister has for you.” Hela summoned a bottle from her storage dimension. She didn’t bother warming it up. Elden in his current form would not be able to properly stomach warm sustenance.

 

Hela leaned over the basket and held the bottle to Elden’s mouth. He latched on immediately to the nipple, sucking so furiously that some of the milk trickled from his lips down his cheek. He reached up with both hands to grip the bottle, but one of his hands closed around Hela’s finger instead. He gripped tightly, as if his life depended on it.

 

Hela’s eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. Elden had been fussy the entire time he had been with her, understandably, and had not sought out physical contact. But this? He stared directly at her with his human, blue eyes.

 

“Hela!” Helblindi called sharply from the front of the vehicle. Hela jumped and looked up, breaking the spell.

 

“What is it?” she demanded in a surly voice. 

 

“Make yourself useful and renew the spell on the driver. He’s starting to twitch.”

 

“I am busy. It can wait a moment.”

 

Helblindi looked back with a scowl. “The sprog won’t starve, but if the spell fades, the driver could purposely crash the vehicle. We don’t have time to waste finding a new one.”

 

Hela grit her teeth together. “Fine,” she growled, and slowly pulled the bottle from Elden’s grasp. His breath hitched as if he was about to cry, but Hela dug around the basket until she found his soother and popped it into his mouth. He latched onto it, still staring trustingly up at Hela.

 

She hesitated for a moment, looking down at his face. At least he had grandparents and a doting uncle. He would be well cared for after she took her revenge. He would never remember Loki, or the norn. It was for the best that it should happen while he was young.

  
Yes, she told herself. It was for the best.


	19. By The Grace Of The Fire And The Flames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter but at least I'm posting, right?
> 
> For anyone who was concerned, I am doing much, much better than I was a few weeks ago. My mom, my brother, and my therapist are all aware of my issues and are working with me to help me get to where I need to go. I appreciate your kind words and patience.
> 
> Let's see if we can get things done, shall we?

Loki ducked behind a bus and sat down hard, his back to the sun-warmed metal. He winced as he pressed his hand to his side, checking for fractures in his ribcage. He’d have some spectacular bruising later, but the bones appeared to be intact. Small mercies.

In retrospect, they should have taken more time to plan the confrontation. They should have taken more care to ensure that Hela and Helblindi would not sense their approach. But there was no time for regrets now.

Loki was not able to carry a human communications device because of his magic, so he wasn’t able to speak with the human Avengers. Darcy he could sense close by; safe and under cover. Loki reached up and found the small golden disk affixed to his skull behind his ear. It wasn’t damaged, to his relief.

“Thor,” he called.

There was a moment of silence, then Thor’s voice spoke inside his skull. “Are you injured?” Thor demanded.

“Not gravely. Where are you?” Loki replied, pushing himself up far enough to look through the windows of the bus, searching the area for Helblindi.

“I am here with Darcy,” Thor told him. “We are tracking Hela.”

“Watch her,” Loki warned. “She is very good with fire.”

There was another pause before his brother’s voice returned. “Darcy says we will handle it. Also she wants a communer implanted when we return to Asgard.”

“ _Fine_ ,” Loki spat. “Whatever she wishes. Just _be careful_.”

“We will be,” Thor promised.

Loki snorted to himself and scanned the area again. They were in a city called Elizabethtown, and they had been under attack since they’d landed the quinjet by a children’s academy. Helblindi had been waiting for them. The Jotun had used the scepter on most of the city’s inhabitants, sending them to attack the Avengers. The Avengers had originally split up in three teams, but Loki had been cut off from Darcy, Thor, and their Rogers within moments.

He knew he had been purposefully culled from the herd, and he had let it happen. Hela and Helblindi were targeting him first and foremost. If he could lure them away from the others, he could finish this without Darcy being harmed.

Satisfied the immediate area was clear, Loki pushed away from the bus and limped along the street, his senses stretched to their fullest extent. Helblindi had caught him off guard. It wouldn’t happen again. So Loki wouldn’t have to worry about collateral damage.

The hairs on the back of Loki’s neck prickled, and he whirled around, dodging just in time to avoid a downward slash of Helblindi’s ice sword. Unlike other Jotnar, Helblindi’s blade wasn’t an extension of their arm, but a separate weapon grown and crafted from ice. Helblindi spun the sword in a lazy circle and pointed at Loki.

“Are you tiring yet, _brother_?” Helblindi growled. “Do you feel your wounds? I am happy to end this now.”

Loki summoned his daggers and dropped into a defensive stance. “You’re _not_ my brother,” he spat. Helblindi snarled and lunged forward, ice sword whistling as it sliced through the air.

Helblindi was not particularly skilled with a sword, not like Sif or Fandral, but they were a match for Loki in strength and speed, and their weapon had a longer reach. Loki dodged rather than try to parry with his much shorter blades, and Helblindi quickly lost patience. They stepped back and twisted their left hand in an arcane gesture, then thrust their palm towards Loki.

Helblindi’s spell took the shape of a glowing blue arrow, plunging through the air towards Loki’s chest. Loki vanished his daggers and swept both hands out from in front of him to either side. A network of green geometric shapes appeared in front of him, and when Helblindi’s spell impacted, both it and Loki’s ward exploded into multicolored sparks of light, knocking Loki back a step.

Helblindi pressed their advantage, slicing upwards at Loki’s exposed abdomen. Loki batted the blade aside with his bare hand, cursing under his breath when his skin turned blue at the contact. He flung his other hand out and three darts of hard, green light lanced from his fingers.

The _smárfolk_ raised their left arm and a shield of ice expanded out from their forearm. The darts hit the ice and shattered it. Loki growled in frustration. They could throw spells at each other all day and get nowhere. He needed an edge.

So he did something that he knew Helblindi would not expect. Both of them were most skilled at water, ice and energy magicks, obviously thanks to their Jotun blood. But Loki had been taught by Frigga, an Asgardian, and he had more tricks up his sleeve.

He summoned five clones and sent them running in all directions while he dodged to Helblindi’s left. He needed something physical, something non-magical that could not be countered easily by magic. Darcy would disapprove of what he was about to do, but he would apologize later.

Loki balled his hand into a fist, summoned a globe of energy, and lobbed it through the window of the first parked car he came across. The interior of the car burst into flames. That was enough to alert Helblindi as to which of the doubles running around was actually him.

Helblindi stalked down the street towards Loki, flicking their sword around in tight, controlled circles. Loki held his ground, watching the progress of the flames out of the corner of his eye.

“You have no idea, do you?” Helblindi demanded. “The damage you caused when you killed Laufey. The blood you spilled. Laufey was all that protected the _smárfolk_ . When he died my kind were _slaughtered_ . All but a very few.” They pointed the tip of their sword at Loki’s chest. “You didn’t just spill kinblood, _brother_. You betrayed your own kind. Their deaths are on your head!”

All of that was far more information than Loki needed to be processing at the moment. The thought that there were more like him, like Helblindi, that Laufey had protected them… No. He needed a clear head for this. He needed to focus.

“Not that you would care at all,” Loki replied, “But I was not responsible for Laufey’s death. I was under thrall by the Eldest norn, Skuld. She forced my hand. I had no desire to kill your father.”

“ _Our_ father!” Helblindi yelled at him. “Why do you deny it? Your true form? Your birthright? You and I, we could have done great things together! But you turned your back on us!”

“I was never given the choice,” Loki spat back. “I was taken from Jotunheim! I was lied to, my whole life. I never knew what I was! None of this was my doing!”

Helblindi stopped, lowering the blade. “Did you know?” they asked in a low, dangerous voice. “When you killed my progenitor? Did you know what you were then?”

“I told you, I was under thrall,” Loki insisted. The heat from the burning vehicle was increasing. He only had to keep Helblindi talking a few more moments. “Skuld took my mind when I was barely more than a boy. _She_ was the one who killed your father.”

“You’re a _coward_ ,” Helblindi snarled. “Not even willing to take responsibility for your own actions. Pathetic.”

“I told you,” Loki said, keeping his temper. “I am not resp--”

The car exploded beside Loki and he released the spell he’d been holding in his mind, reaching out with his right hand towards the expanding ball of flame. It twisted itself into a thick, serpentine column, curving around to flow along Loki’s arm, around his shoulders. He stretched out his left arm, first two fingers extended, and the column of fire roared forth towards Helblindi.

The Jotun raised their arms, crossing them over their face. They summoned a layer of ice to surround them, protect from the flames. But the column of fire descended on them with elemental fury, chewing through the frozen water and boiling it to steam.

Helblindi screamed in pain and stumbled backwards, their armor now in flames, thrashing at the tongues of fire in a desperate attempt to ward them off. The column of fire from the explosion expended itself, leaving the vehicle a smoking, melted husk.

Helblindi managed to extinguish the remnants of the flames and glared balefully at Loki, huge swatches of skin blackened and cracked, smoke and steam rising from their armor. Loki stayed his ground, eyes narrowed challengingly. Helblindi took a step forward, stopped, and then vanished in a whisp of ice-blue energy.

Only then did Loki allow himself to sink to his knees, tearing at the buckles of his left vambrace with a shaking hand. Once he was able to remove that he clawed at the pauldron on his shoulder, finally removing both pieces of armor. The leather and fabric under the metal plates was scorched away, revealing patches of burned and blistered skin.

He gritted his teeth against the pain, cradling his arm against his chest, fighting to compose himself enough to contact Thor on the communer. As such, his attention to his surroundings was limited, which is why he didn’t sense her approaching.

“Is it true?”

At the sound of the soft question, Loki’s head shot up, eyes widening when he saw Hela standing only a few paces from him. In her arms she held Elden, wrapped tightly in a blue blanket. She held him gently, protectively, tight against her chest.

Loki stared at her for a moment, trying to decide what it meant, the way she held her half-brother. “Is what true?” he asked thickly, pain slowing his mind.

“What Skuld did,” Hela continued. She glanced at the wounds on his arm, then back to his face. “Did she hold you in thrall?”

“Yes,” Loki told her. “She did.”

Hela frowned and looked down at Elden, who seemed content enough in her arms that he was not fussing, just blinking in the bright sunshine. Hela looked back up at Loki. “I saw her do this, many times. She used her voice to control people. They could not fight her.”

“I couldn’t,” Loki agreed. “Not until Darcy freed me.”

“So… you did not kill her,” Hela said slowly.

Loki winced and leaned forward. “No,” he replied. “I didn’t.”

Hela’s face crumpled in confusion. “She made you kill Laufey. Why?” she demanded.

Loki shook his head. “I do not know.”

“She knew,” Hela muttered to herself. “She had to know the _smárfolk_ would die. They were innocent. Why would she allow this? What was the purpose?”

“Hela, Skuld was mad,” Loki told her through clenched teeth. “She wanted to destroy the world.”

“No,” Hela insisted. “Ragnarok is rebirth, not destruction.”

“Perhaps, but it was not yet time,” Loki insisted. “Ragnarok _will_ come one day, Hela. But not yet. Any of the norns will tell you that.”

Hela’s expression hardened. “If you did not kill Skuld, then Sigyn _did_ . _She_ murdered my foster mother.”

“ _Ragnarok_ killed Skuld,” Loki told her wearily. “Not Sigyn.”

The girl’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open. She stared at Loki with her inscrutable, black eyes. For a long moment neither spoke, simply stared at each other. Then Hela stepped closed the distance between them and leaned down, offering Elden to Loki.

“He deserves better than this,” Hela whispered as Loki took him with his uninjured arm. “He deserves to be safe.”

“So do you,” Loki told her. “Hela, you do not need to fight us. Please.”

Hela stood and took a step back, her expression sad. “It is too late for that, I think.” She turned to leave and began to walk away.

“Hela!” Loki called after her. She didn’t look back. He looked down to see his son peering up at him near-sightedly and, realizing who was holding him, began to burble and squeak excitedly, wriggling in his swaddling. Loki cradled the infant to his chest, closing his eyes as relief washed over him.

One child was safe. If only he could say the same for the other.

“Thor,” Loki said, using the communer. “I have him. I have Elden.”

Thor landed a few moments later, carrying Darcy in his arms. Darcy pushed away from Thor and darted toward Loki, dropping to her knees in front of him. “Oh, my god,” she said, reaching out to take Elden. “Oh, thank God. Is he okay?”

“He is unharmed,” Loki assured her, transferring Elden into her arms and then leaning towards her.

For a few moments Darcy was too overwhelmed to speak. She pressed her cheek to the top of Elden’s head, her eyes closed tightly. A few tears still managed to leak through her lashes, dampening Elden’s dark hair. Elden squirmed and babbled loudly, happy to be held by his mother again. He managed to free on hand from his blankets and reached out toward Darcy, grabbing at the braid falling over her shoulder.

“Loki, you’re injured,” Thor said from where he was looming over them.

Loki gritted his teeth and checked the burn wounds. They had not healed much, and they were now starting to ooze clear fluid.

“Holy _fuck_ , what happened?” Darcy demanded. Loki looked up to find her staring at the wounds.

“I will be fine,” Loki assured her.

“That doesn’t look fine, Loki,” Darcy retorted, taking his wrist in one hand and leaning forward so she could examine him. “Did Helblindi do this?”

“ _I_ did this,” Loki told her tightly. “Helblindi is a Jotun, and vulnerable to fire magicks. Unfortunately, so am I.”

“Did Helblindi get away?” Darcy asked, not letting go of his wrist. Loki jerked his head down in a nod. Darcy looked down at their son and then back up at him. “How did you get him back?”

“Hela brought him to me,” Loki told her softly.

Darcy’s eyes widened. “She… _brought_ … him to you?”

“Yes,” Loki affirmed. “She said he didn’t deserve all of this.”

Darcy’s lips parted as she thought. She looked up at Thor, who only shrugged helplessly. Then she looked back at Loki. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Okay, then.”

“Darcy, she is not an evil child,” Loki told her intensely. “Not truly.”

“Loki, she--” Darcy began.

“She was twisted by Skuld,” Loki insisted. “She was never given a choice. Not much different than I.”

“She hurt Jane,” Darcy reminded him in a low voice.

Loki growled in frustration. Why couldn’t she see what he did? “She is just a _child_. Angry, frightened, and alone.” When Darcy didn’t look convinced, Loki reached out to briefly cup Elden’s head. “She did not hurt Elden. She cared for him. Brought him back to us.”

Darcy blinked and looked back down, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. Before she could reply, the strange man called Vision touched down beside Thor, his yellow cape fluttering in the slight breeze.

“We have neutralized the citizens affected by the scepter,” he announced.

“Hela and Helblindi have both escaped,” Thor replied unhappily. “But we have recovered Elden safely.”

“The child?” Vision asked, looking over at Loki and Darcy. He stepped closer. “Oh. Very good. I am sure everyone will be quite relieved. I am to escort you to the quinjet.”

Thor offered Loki a hand to pull him to his feet, which Loki accepted. He was in more pain than he would ever admit; the burns were quite serious. But he said nothing as he walked beside Darcy through the strangely empty city.

Romanov was at the quinjet when they arrived. She wrinkled her nose when Loki stepped onto the ramp. “How bad are you injured?” she demanded without preamble.

“I will be fine,” Loki insisted.

“It’s probably worse than he’ll admit,” Darcy said, giving him a dark look. “It always is.”

Romanov pointed at one of the jump seats. “Sit,” she ordered.

Loki opened his mouth to reprimand her, but Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. He had no desire to argue with his wife, and his wounds _did_ need tending, so he sat. Darcy sat next to him, angling Elden upright so he could look around the jet. Loki summoned one of his soothers from his pocket dimension and offered it to Darcy, who took with with a grateful smile.

Romanov helped him struggle out of his surcoat and the layers underneath so she could sanitize the wounds. Thor hovered worriedly nearby until Loki snarled at him to give him some room to breathe. The Captains and Barnes arrived just as Romanov was taping bandages down.

The Rogers that belonged to their universe immediately came over. “What happened? You okay?”

“I will be--” Loki started, but Romanov interrupted him.

“Third degree burns on his forearm and shoulder,” she said, glaring down at him. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say he probably won’t need skin grafts, but the wounds will need debriding when we get back to base.”

“Hela and Helblindi?” Rogers asked. Loki shook his head.

“It is not all poor news,” Thor said, stepping aside so Rogers could see Darcy and Elden.

Rogers raised his eyebrows. “Oh. Good. Darce, that’s real good.”

Barnes shouldered past Rogers and leaned down to examine Elden, even reaching over to pull the blanket from his face, leaving a smudge of dirt on the fabric. “Cute kid,” he said, giving Darcy a crooked smile.

She smiled back. “Thanks. I’m just glad he’s safe. You have no idea.”

“Yeah,” Barnes said, straightening.

“Rhodes, Sam, and Wanda are staying here to help the civilians affected by the scepter,” the other Rogers announced. “We’ll head back to base, regroup, and figure out our next move.”

Loki retrieved his tunic from the floor of the quinjet and painstakingly pulled it back on, wincing when the burned skin pulled too tightly.

“Do you need pain medicine?” Darcy asked quietly in the First Tongue.

“I would prefer to keep a clear head,” Loki replied, turning toward her so he could check on Elden. As relieved as he was to have his son safe again, after so many hours worrying, he had to reassure himself that he was indeed returned. Elden remained as plump and healthy as always, suckling dutifully on his soother as he fidgeted with his blanket.

Loki reached over and stroked the back of Elden’s hand with one finger, feeling the smooth, cool skin. “Your sisters are worried about you, _minn niðr_ ,” he murmured. “They will be happy to have you back.”

Elden stared back at Loki with round blue eyes and made a soft grunting sound. Darcy dipped her head to press a kiss to the boy’s glossy hair. “I am… I can’t even say how happy I am to have him back,” she said, still in the First Tongue.

“As am I,” Loki replied, stroking the back of Elden’s hand again. Elden turned his hand over and closed his fist over the top of Loki’s finger. “Darcy, when we return to the base, you will take Elden back through the Way.”

“I know,” Darcy said distracted by their son.

“And you will stay there,” Loki added.

Darcy’s head shot up. “What?” she demanded.

“You will return to the Well and remain there with the girls and your mother,” Loki told her firmly.

Darcy stared at him in disbelief. “Are you _ordering_ me?”

“I am your _lagsmaðr_ ,” Loki reminded her. “My duty is to keep you safe at all costs.”

“That doesn’t mean you get to order me around,” Darcy retorted, keeping her voice low. Thor looked uncomfortable and drifted to the other side of the quinjet to give them some small amount of privacy. “I make decisions for myself.”

“Yes, but I am telling you, as both your guardian and your husband, you need to stay at the Well until we’ve recovered the Stones,” Loki insisted.

Darcy glared at him. “Why?” she asked.

“Because Hela knows that you are the one who killed Skuld and I have no idea how she is going to use that information,” Loki told her in a voice barely above a whisper. “Please, beloved. Do not make me choose between you and her.”

Darcy’s expression softened. “You could have just told me that in the first place,” she chided. “Okay. I’ll go. But you have to promise me, _angan_. You have to promise me you’re coming back.”

Loki offered her a half smile and leaned forward to kiss her softly. “I will always come back to you,” he told her, and it wasn’t a lie.

The flight back to the base was less than a quarter of an hour, and when they arrived Darcy insisted Loki go straight to the medical wing. Apparently the Avengers of this universe had a medical staff that reported in only for missions. The medical staff did not seemed concerned at all that Loki was an alien, and immediately set about treating his wounds. He finally accepted painkillers, at an amount lethal to humans, and braced himself for the debriding.

Darcy had been allowed to stay as long as she changed out of her armor and stay in the corner, as far away as possible. She’d summoned a bottle for Elden. They always kept a few on hand for emergencies and when Brenna needed time to herself.

The painkillers had finally begun to kick in and Loki felt his mind beginning to drift, a relief from having the burned flesh scraped from the wounds. He closed his eyes went willingly into the darkness. He didn’t lose consciousness, though, not fully.

Hela and Helblindi’s words circled his thoughts, teasing him. There was meaning, some connection he was missing. Helblindi had said that Laufey was protecting the _smárfolk_. And yet Loki himself had been left to die on the side of a mountain. Why would Laufey abandon his own son if he protected those like him?

And _why_ did Skuld wish Laufey to be killed? Was her purpose to eliminate the _smárfolk_ , or was that merely coincidence?

It was too much to concentrate on with the level of medication Loki had been given, and he pushed the thoughts away so he could rest and gather himself. So when he heard his wife’s voice he initially gave it no thought until he realized she was agitated, her voice raised.

Loki dragged himself back to full consciousness and opened his eyes. He was laying on his stomach on the examination bed to give the healers better access to his shoulder. They were blocking his view of Darcy. He used his uninjured arm to push himself upright.

“Sir, you need to remain still!” one of the healers protested, trying to push him back down. Loki swatted the woman’s hands away and achieved a sitting position. The healers fluttered around him, talking to him and each other. He saw one ready another needle.

He slid off the bed and pushed past the healers, scanning the room for Darcy. She was standing by the door now, talking to someone he could not see, her voice pitched high.

“Darcy,” Loki called, not liking the way his voice slurred. She half-turned back towards him, enough that he could see she was still holding their son. She looked torn for a moment, then started walking back towards him.

“Loki, you need to lay back down,” she told him. “You need to let them work.”

“Why are you upset?” he demanded. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” she said, putting her hand on his uninjured arm. “It’s fine. Go lay back down.”

Loki looked up at the doorway again and stopped, blinking several times. He wondered exactly how much analgesics he had been given that he was seeing double.

“Okay,” said the other Darcy. “Someone want to explain what the _hell_ is going on?”


	20. I Told You That's The Last You'll See Of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look at this I'm updating within a reasonable time frame! Guess I really am finally getting my shit together. Thanks everyone for being so supportive and so patient. You're the best readers anyone could ask for.
> 
> Also, please watch Sense8 on Netflix. There's two seasons up now and we really, really want a third. It's an amazing show with an incredibly diverse cast in terms of gender, race, and sexuality. Please please please give it a try. The first episode does have a trigger for suicide, though, so please be cautious.
> 
> And hey, look! We've crossed 100k words!

Darcy really should have mentally prepared herself for this possibility, but she hadn’t even thought about it. She’d been so worried about Elden that she hadn’t had time to think about anything else. She’d been sitting in the corner of the operating room, feeding Elden and keeping an eye on Loki when she’d heard the voice in the hallway.

“Hello? Hey! I’ve been waiting for hours! Is someone gonna tell me what I’m here for?”

A shiver went down Darcy’s spine. That voice… that was _her_ voice. Had they really…? She got to her feet, dismissing the empty bottle, and lifted Elden to her shoulder. Glancing over to make sure Loki hadn’t noticed anything, she crossed over to the door and peered out.

There she was, wearing an oversized chunky cardigan, a knit beret, and plastic-framed glasses. She didn’t see Darcy at first. She was checking doors as she came down the hallway.

“Hellooooo?” she called again, and turned around in a circle, finally catching sight of Darcy hovering in the doorway. “What the fuck?”

“What are you doing here?” Darcy asked her doppelganger uneasily. “Did Steve--I mean, Captain Rogers bring you here?”

“Who the _hell_ are you and why do you look like me?” the other Darcy demanded shrilly.

“It’s a long story,” Darcy replied tightly. Elden squirmed in her arms, no doubt picking up on the tension in both of their voices.

“Long story my ass,” the other Darcy snapped. “What are you, some kind of evil clone? Why would someone clone _me_? I’m a freaking grad student.”

“I’m not a clone,” Darcy assured her. “I’m… It’s complicated.”

“I can take complicated,” the other woman retorted. “I want an explanation _now_.”

“Darcy?”

At the sound of Loki’s voice, Darcy turned to see Loki off the table, the nurses fluttering anxiously behind him. One of them was preparing a hypodermic needle. Darcy grimaced, cursed internally, and turned to walk back over to him.

“Loki, you need to lay back down,” she told him soothingly. “You need to let them work.”

“Why are you upset?” he demanded, his voice slurring. “What happened?”

Darcy put her hand on his uninjured arm. His wounds looked even more raw and angry than before, but Darcy had to tell herself that was a good thing. For the burns to heal the dead tissue had to be stripped away.

“Nothing,” she assured him. “It’s fine. Go lay back down.”

Loki looked up from her to the doorway and froze, his dark brows drawing together in confusion. Darcy turned to look and saw the other Darcy standing in the doorway, her eyes fixed on Loki.

“Okay,” she said loudly. “Someone want to explain what the _hell_ is going on?”

“Miss, you need to take this outside,” interrupted the doctor, glaring at Darcy. “Sir, if you don’t let us work, we _will_ sedate you.”

A spasm of anger and frustration crossed Loki’s face, and he turned towards the doctor, raising one hand. Darcy lunged forward and caught his wrist, forcing his hand back down. “Let them finish treating you, _angan_ ,” she told him firmly. “I’ll handle this.”

“Darcy, she is--” Loki began.

“Yeah, I know,” Darcy cut him off. “I’ll handle it.”

The doctor stepped forward and gently took Loki’s uninjured arm. “Sir, please come lay back down,” he insisted. Loki gave Darcy one last look before sighing and turning to shuffle back to the table.

“That’s _Loki_ ?” the other Darcy demanded shrilly. “ _Actually_ Loki? The guy who tore up New York?”

“No,” Darcy snapped, turning to face her double again. “And can you please keep your voice down? You’re freaking my son out.”

The other Darcy stared at Elden, who was fussing and squirming in Darcy’s arms. “Whoa. Wait. My evil clone has a _kid_? That’s totally not cool.”

“I’m not your clone,” Darcy said impatiently.

“Why should I believe you? You’re the evil one,” the other Darcy retorted.

Natasha appeared in the doorway, much to Darcy’s relief. “Miss Lewis, I told you not to leave the conference room,” she said sharply.

“I was waiting for _hours_ , and _nobody_ is telling me what’s going on,” other Darcy protested. “Which apparently involves my evil clone and her baby!”

“She’s not a clone,” Natasha said. “She’s your counterpart from an alternate reality.”

The other Darcy stopped with her mouth open, thought for a minute, then closed her mouth. She pushed her glasses back up her nose. “Really?” she asked, sounding more intrigued than confused. “Huh. That sounds like something Jane would handle. Is Jane here?”

“This had nothing to do with Doctor Foster,” Natasha replied. “Now, if you’ll come with me, both of you, we’ll debrief you fully.”

“Debrief, huh?” other Darcy said dryly. “Usually you have to buy me a drink first.”

“Sorry, honey, you’re not my type,” Natasha fired back instantly.

Other Darcy pouted but followed when Natasha retreated to the hallway. Darcy checked on Loki one last time to make sure he was okay before shifting Elden in her arms and following. He finally settled, grabbed a fistful of Darcy’s tunic, and started to doze off.

Natasha led them back to the conference room where Steve 1 was waiting, reading from a tablet with a bluetooth earpiece in one ear. “Okay, sounds good,” he was saying as the women entered. “Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks, Sam.” He looked up. “Oh, good. You found her.”

“I mistakenly assumed that she was capable of following simple orders,” Natasha said acerbically, shooting other Darcy a mild glare.

“I literally get dragged out of my statistics class, shoved into a quinjet, and flown to a secret undisclosed location, and _nobody_ is telling me why,” other Darcy replied, setting her hands on her hips. “So yeah, I’m gonna investigate.”

“You know, she’s not wrong,” Darcy added, patting Elden’s back. “I woulda done the same thing.”

“No, really?” Natasha said, rolling her eyes.

“Okay. So not evil clone,” other Darcy eyed Darcy sidelong. “Alternate reality. Got it. Still, _why_ am I here? I mean, other than being seriously weirded the hell out. A kid? Really? I’m, like, twenty-five.”

“I have seven children, actually,” Darcy replied stiffly. “But six of them are adopted.”

“Seven?” other Darcy echoed in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”

“We didn’t bring you here to compare life stories,” Steve 1 interrupted, then stopped himself. “Actually, that _is_ why we brought you here. _This_ Darcy has certain… abilities… and we wanted to confirm whether or not you shared the same abilities.”

Other Darcy turned to look between Steve 1 and Darcy several times. “Are you saying that myself from another universe has powers and I _don’t_ ? Seriously? Of _course_ I get the shitty end of that bargain. Because _why_ would anything in my life be cool for once?” She adjusted her glasses. “I mean, other than meeting Captain America in person. Big fan, by the way.”

Darcy stared at her doppelganger with her mouth slightly open. “Hang on…” she said in disbelief. “You _don’t_ have powers?” She stepped forward and reached out with her free hand to grab the other woman’s wrist, sensing…

Nothing. No Sigyn. No norn. Just a normal twenty-five-year-old woman, trying to get a graduate degree from Columbia who had found herself by chance in the middle of some very interesting situations.

Darcy felt her knees go weak as the other yanked her hand out of her grasp. Natasha pulled out a chair and Darcy collapsed into it before she fell and hurt Elden.

“Oh, my god,” Darcy whispered, the shock of it numbing her brain. “You--you’re not--”

“No, I’m not,” the other Darcy said mulishly. “I’m _normal_. What kind of powers are we talking about, anyway?”

“Apparently this version of you can create portals through space and time,” Natasha explained dryly.

Other Darcy blinked a few times. “Wait, you mean like, um, Einstein-Rosen Bridges? Wormholes?” she turned to look at Darcy. “Did something happen to you in Jane’s lab? Did her lab blow up and give you superpowers?”

“No,” Darcy whispered. “I was born with them.”

The other Darcy threw up her hands. “That’s so not fair! What? Someone steps on a butterfly and I don’t get powers?”

“I exist without Sigyn,” Darcy said, unconsciously holding Elden tighter. “There’s a version of me without Sigyn.”

Other Darcy frowned at her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Steve 1 looked over at Darcy. “So you’re saying that our version of Darcy doesn’t contain your… uh… symbiote?”

Darcy looked up at him. “I exist _without_ Sigyn,” she said again. “All this time I thought it was predestined, that I was made _for_ Sigyn, but it’s not, it was just random and there’s a version of me _without_ her.”

Natasha, Steve 1, and other Darcy stared at her for several seconds, not comprehending.

“I’ve had Sigyn since birth,” Darcy continued. “I never had a choice. I thought it was destiny but it wasn’t. It was just chance. Sigyn isn’t a _symbiote_ . She’s a _parasite_ .” Darcy’s eyes widened. “Holy shit. She’s a _parasite_.”

Deep within her psyche, she felt Sigyn stir. _Child, it is not what you think,_ the norn whispered.

 _No,_ Darcy snarled back. _I don’t want to talk to you right now_. She brutally shoved the norn as far down she could, locking her in the same dark place she kept Ragnarok and brain-Skuld.

“Thanos must not have killed Sigyn on earth,” she said out loud, ignoring the confused looks she was getting. “Sigyn never got trapped in the cycle of human vessels. I didn’t think I existed without Sigyn, but I _do_ . I could have been…” Darcy cut herself off and stared at the other woman. “I could have been _you_.”

Other Darcy gave her an uncomfortable look. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Darcy shook her head. “You never worked for SHIELD, did you? You just said you’d never met Steve before. So you were never friends. And you can’t dreamwalk which means you never met Loki, or Frigga. Holy shit. I bet you weren’t even there to save her… which means Frigga is dead. She’s dead, isn’t she? And Loki. You never met him, which means _this_ version of Loki is still under Skuld’s control.” Darcy couldn’t help the words tumbling out of her mouth as her thoughts raced.

“Wait,” she continued, frowning. “If I’m not Sigyn, then there’s no one to stop Skuld from starting Ragnarok. Why didn’t she start Ragnarok?”

“Ragnarok?” Natasha echoed skeptically. “As in the viking apocalypse?”

“It’s a… power, sort of,” Darcy explained impatiently. “It’s meant to destroy and then remake the universe. My sister tried to jump-start the process and I had to kill her to stop her.”

“I don’t _have_ a sister,” other Darcy protested. “I have--”

“Three brothers, I know,” Darcy interrupted. “The other norns. They’re my sisters. But me not being Darcy wouldn’t stop the prophecy about Loki because that was made, like, a thousand years before Darcy was even born, so Skuld still would have tried to use Loki… and there wasn’t anyone to free him…” Darcy stopped, her eyes wide.

“New York happened here,” she said.

“Yes,” Steve 1 replied slowly.

“And Loki was taken back to Asgard,” Darcy continued.

“Loki’s dead,” other Darcy cut in. “Thor said he died on the Dark Elf world.”

“Svartalfheim,” Darcy said quietly, suddenly really glad she was sitting down. “You’re sure. He really died?”

Other Darcy shrugged. “Thor was pretty sure.”

Darcy took a deep, shuddering breath. She didn’t for a moment believe that Loki in this universe had died on Svartalfheim any more than her Loki had. But if this Darcy wasn’t a norn, then did that mean this Loki was still under Skuld’s compulsion? It was a terrifying thought.

“What’s with Loki, anyway?” other Darcy demanded. “That guy in the medical wing. Is he from another universe, too?”

“Yes,” Steve 1 told her. “He came through with this Darcy here, along with a few others.”

“Why?” other Darcy asked.

“That’s need-to-know only,” Natasha interrupted. “We’ve gotten all the information we need. We’ll be transporting you back to New York City.”

“No. Nuh-uh,” other Darcy protested. “You don’t get to drop a bomb like this and then just expect me to walk away. I literally have an alternate version of myself standing right here. You gotta let me have at least an hour with her.”

Steve 1 sighed and looked at Darcy. “Is that okay with you?”

Darcy gathered herself enough to nod. “Yeah. Don’t worry, I won’t tell her anything classified.”

Steve 1 nodded back and he and Natasha left, leaving the Darcys alone together. “Okay, they’re gone,” other Darcy said conspiratorially. “What’s really going on?”

Darcy shook her head. “Sorry. Natasha was right. That’s kinda need-to-know.”

“Oh, come _on_ ,” other Darcy whined. “It’s not like you’re telling just _anyone_. I can keep a secret.”

Elden woke up from his brief nap and started telling anyone who would listen that he was hungry again. Darcy summoned her last bottle of formula and focused her seidr. She wasn’t nearly as good as Loki at this, and it took too much energy to be efficient, but she could heat the milk up to body temperature.

“How did you do that?” other Darcy demanded. “You just made it appear out of thin air!”

“I can store things in a tiny pocket dimension that I’ve created with the power of my mind,” Darcy explained, offering the bottle to Elden. He latched onto it with both hands, suckling so eagerly that some of the milk trickled down his chubby cheeks.

“What else can you do?” other Darcy demanded.

“I’m psychic, slightly,” Darcy told her. “I can see the future. I can make people do whatever I want them to just by talking to them.”

“That’s so trippy,” other Darcy said. “And you were just born with all these abilities?”

Darcy hesitated. “Not… exactly. When I was born, I became the vessel of an immortal entity known as Sigyn. _She’s_ the one with the abilities.”

Other Darcy’s eyes widened. “Wait, so you’ve got, like, a brain worm or something?”

Darcy winced. “No. Sigyn is a spiritual being. She doesn’t have a physical form of her own. Not anymore. That’s why she has to take a vessel. All the norns do. It’s a power and a memory and a personality they pass on when one vessel dies.”

“So that’s what you were talking about earlier,” other Darcy said. “About being predestined and all that crap?”

“That’s what I thought,” Darcy said quietly, looking down at Elden. He had an expression of utmost concentration on his face. “But now… I don’t even know. Maybe it’s just random. I didn’t even think about a universe where Darcy existed without Sigyn.”

And she hadn’t. She’d just assumed that Darcy was always meant to have Sigyn, that the two were integrally intertwined. But here was proof that Darcy _could_ exist separately from Sigyn. Darcy was sounding less and less like a vessel and more like a host.

“As _bizarre_ as that sounds,” other Darcy went on. “I really need to know what’s going on with Loki. Like, why is he even here?”

Darcy tilted her head, still staring at Elden. “Loki and I are married,” she said softly. “This is our son.”

“ _What_ ?” other Darcy sputtered. “ _Married_ ? You and Loki? _Why_ ? I mean-- _New York_! And not to mention Puente Antigua! He tried to kill us. And Thor.”

“Yeah, he did,” Darcy acknowledged. “Because he was being mind-controlled by another norn named Skuld.”

“Mind controlled?” other Darcy said skeptically. “Seriously? That’s kind of a weak excuse.”

Darcy shrugged. “It’s the truth. Whether or not you believe it is not my problem.”

“And you _married_ him?” other Darcy pressed. “I mean, he’s an _alien_.”

“From his point of view, _I’m_ an alien,” Darcy replied, adjusting the bottle for Elden. “Inter-species relationships aren’t unheard of. And to be honest, he’s not all that different from human. Just stronger. And, you know, with magic powers and shit.”

“So if he was mind-controlled, how did he get free, or whatever?” other Darcy demanded.

“I killed Skuld,” Darcy said flatly.

“Oh,” the other woman said, taken slightly aback. “You’ve actually _killed_ someone?”

“I’ve personally killed eight people,” Darcy told her in the same flat voice.

Other Darcy stared at her. “Wow,” she said after a moment, looking suddenly nervous. “So I guess your life has been very different than mine.”

“Considering you’re not a norn, yeah,” Darcy replied dryly.

The other Darcy propped her chin on her hand and stared at Darcy for a long moment. “This is so bananas. Like, I’m looking at you and it’s like looking into a mirror except your reflection isn’t doing the same thing as you. Like some kind of weird horror psycho thriller movie.”

“Well, it’s not like this is any more normal for me,” Darcy retorted. “I’ve never travelled to an alternate universe before.”

“How did you even get here?” other Darcy demanded.

“Remember how Steve said I could make portals?” Darcy asked as Elden finished the bottle. She raised him to her shoulder and patted his back. “Well, with enough power and preparation, apparently I can punch a hole between universes. Go me.”

“You can create _wormholes_. I bet Jane went completely bonkers over you,” other Darcy said.

Darcy laughed. “Yeah, she did. But you don’t work for her anymore?”

“Nope,” other Darcy said. “Internship ended. I got accepted to grad school. She went on to bigger and better things. We still email sometimes.”

“Grad school,” Darcy said softly. “Huh. I never managed to finish my degree.”

Other Darcy’s gaze dropped to Elden, happily burbling on Darcy’s shoulder. “Why not?”

Darcy laughed again, this time humorlessly. “Life. Saved the universe. Killed my sister. Got stabbed in the stomach. After that, it didn’t seem as important.”

The other Darcy gave her another uncomfortable look. “Sounds like your life kinda sucks.”

“There’s been a lot of good things,” Darcy protested. “My kids… we have a house in PA. We travel. Visit Asgard a lot. Loki’s doing better. The girls started school this fall. We’re happy.”

“But you got _stabbed_?” other Darcy asked.

“And shot, and electrocuted, and kidnapped: twice. Thrown off a camel. Concussed, multiple times,” Darcy listed. “Hazards of the occupation.”

A nurse appeared in the doorway. “Miss Lewis?” he asked.

Both Darcys turned around to look. The nurse frowned and looked from one to the other before focusing on the Darcy holding the baby. “Mr Odinson is finished with the debriding and his wounds have been bandaged. He’s asking for you, now.”

“Thank you,” Darcy said, getting to her feet. The other Darcy jumped up, too, and followed Darcy when she returned to the medical wing.

Loki was sitting up, still shirtless, with bandages taped over his shoulder and forearm. He was staring intensely at his hands, first the backs, and then turning them over to study the palms. He had an IV in his uninjured arm and another nurse was just pulling a needle out of the injection port.

“Hey, babe,” Darcy called softly as she approached him. “How ya feeling?”

Loki looked up at her, and his pupils were widely dilated, only a thin ring of jade green visible. “My skin is the wrong color,” he told her, holding up his hands. “It isn’t supposed to be this color, I think.”

Darcy grimaced. “ _Angan_ , you’re on pain meds. A lot of them, probably. I wouldn’t worry about that right now.”

Loki stared at her for a long minute, absorbing her words, and then he reached out for her. “Elden,” he said. “He’s here. We were looking for him but he is here.”

“Yeah,” Darcy told him, coming closer so she could show him their son dozing in her arms. “He’s right here. Safe and sound.”

“Hela brought him to me,” Loki told her gravely. “She cared for him. Brought him home.”

“She did,” Darcy replied.

“She’s not an evil child, Darcy,” Loki insisted. “Not like me. She’s only… confused.”

“Babe, you were never an evil child,” Darcy corrected him.

Loki frowned, scrunched his forehead together, and then shook his head. “Skuld… _twisted_ her. Made her believe things. She’s not evil, Darcy. I can save her. I know I can.”

Darcy patted his arm. “I know, babe. We’ll save her. Just like you promised Angrboda. But you should get some rest now, okay? Sleep off the meds.”

An orderly arrived with a wheelchair and Thor in tow. Thor stopped dead at the sight of the two Darcys.

“What is this?” he demanded.

“Thor!” other Darcy exclaimed happily. “Didn’t know you were in town. Thought you were being mighty in space. You know… space things.”

Thor frowned at her and then transferred his gaze to Darcy. “Is this your counterpart in this universe?”

“Yeah,” Darcy replied, and then turned to her doppelganger. “This one’s mine, sorry. He came with me.”

“Oh,” other Darcy said, disappointed. “Bummer.”

Thor gave other Darcy another odd look and then shook his head, stepping towards his brother. “Come, Loki,” he said in a cheerful voice. “The healers need to transport you to a recovery room.”

“I am recovered,” Loki informed his older brother. “I am… recovering.”

“And you will recover faster if you sleep,” Thor told him. “Up you come, Loptr.” He carefully took hold of Loki’s elbows, helping Loki stand, and then maneuvered him into the wheelchair with surprising ease. The orderly unhooked the IV bag and transferred it to the stand on the wheelchair.

“Don’t call me that,” Loki said, annoyed.

“Loptr?” Darcy asked, looking between the Asgardian princes.

“It means ‘lightning,’” Thor explained, taking the handles of the wheelchair before the orderly could.

“I know what it means,” Darcy retorted. “But that seems more like a _you_ name, not a Loki name.”

Loki tilted his head and squinted at Darcy. “When one’s brother is the god of thunder,” he said in a very careful voice. “One must become familiar with lightning.”

“Yes,” Thor agreed sheepishly. “Loki’s been struck so many times we used to jest that lightning ran in his veins instead of blood.”

“That’s… concerning, but cute,” Darcy said.

Thor gave Darcy another sheepish look and pushed Loki towards the door. “Why am I sitting?” Loki asked as they passed other Darcy. “I can walk, you know.”

“I do not think it would be advisable for you to walk now, brother,” Thor told him. “You are drunker than that time on Vanaheim with Hogun’s cousins.”

“That was hardly my fault,” Loki protested.

“Well, no one was _forcing_ you to drink,” Thor replied.

Darcy turned to the other version of her. “I hope everything goes well for you,” she told her sincerely. “I hope you have a happy life.”

“Yeah,” other Darcy said. “You too. Take care of yourself, kid.”

Darcy nodded and turned to follow Thor and Loki out the door. She stopped, thought for a moment, and then turned back. “Hey. If you see Thor. Tell him…” she cut herself off. “Never mind. Don’t say anything.”

It probably wasn’t a good idea to purposefully change another universe with knowledge from her own. Besides, she didn’t have any proof that Loki was being manipulated by Skuld in this universe. Maybe in this universe Skuld didn’t go crazy. Maybe she and the norns were out there somewhere, safe and happy together. There was no way for Darcy to know.

With a shake of her head, Darcy trailed Thor and Loki down the hallway, the brothers arguing good-naturedly as they went, Loki slurring his words. The orderly led them to a nearby room with a oversized hospital bed and a large window with a view of the well-manicured grounds.

“I’m not tired,” Loki protested even as Thor helped him into the bed.

“No, you are drunk and you need to sleep it off,” Thor told him.

“I’m not drunk, either,” Loki muttered irately, but didn’t fight against his brother. The orderly transferred the IV bag and pulled a blanket over Loki’s legs.

“If you need anything, you can push this button,” the orderly told Loki, pointing at the red button on the rail of the bed. “If you need more painkillers, push the button. We’re not putting you on a pain pump because we aren’t sure of your tolerance levels.”

“I did not _ask_ for painkillers,” Loki told him indignantly.

“Sir, we were not going to debride your injuries without pain meds,” the orderly replied condescendingly.

Loki scowled darkly but said nothing. The orderly took the wheelchair and exited the room. Darcy walked over to the bed and handed Elden to Thor, who took his nephew clumsily and with confusion. Darcy unlaced her boots and crawled up onto the bed next to Loki. Thor happily relinquished Elden back to her when she held out her arms.

“I will leave you to rest,” Thor said, nodding at them. “See that he actually gets some rest.”

“Oh, he’s not going anywhere,” Darcy assured him, settling down on Loki’s uninjured side. Loki wriggled around until he could get his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against his side. He pressed his face against her hair and hummed to himself.

“Loki,” Darcy said as soon as Thor left.

“Hmm?” he asked, his face still pressed against the top of her head.

“Do you really think we can save Hela?”

She felt him sigh, his breath cool against her scalp. “Don’t have much of a choice, do we?” he mumbled. “We have to try.”

“Of course we do, but when we catch her, what then?” Darcy pressed. “What do you plan on doing with her?”

Loki grumbled under his breath and flopped over toward her. “Can we discuss this when I’m sober? My brain isn’t functioning properly.”

Darcy exhaled through her nose. “Right. Sorry. Get some sleep.”

“You’re very warm,” Loki said, and draped his other, injured arm over Darcy’s waist, holding her tighter.

“Well, I _am_ human,” Darcy told him, amused. “We run a bit hotter than you do.”

“S’nice,” Loki said, nuzzling the side of her head. He stroked her hair a couple of times. “Why were there two of you?”

“That was the me that lives in this universe,” Darcy explained.

“Hmm. I like you better,” Loki assured her.

“I should hope so,” Darcy said with a laugh. “Seriously, Loki. You should get some sleep.”

“I’m not _tired_ ,” Loki complained.

“Okay, well I am,” Darcy told him. “And I think Elden just went to sleep for real so I’m going to take a nap, okay?”

“I will keep watch,” Loki announced, and promptly began snoring.

Darcy laughed quietly and tucked Elden more securely between the two of them. They still had to apprehend Hela and Helblindi and recover the Stones, but for now, all was well.


	21. Don't You Tell Me What You Think That I Can Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm really, really happy that I could get a chapter out this week. I'm still struggling to find my stride after being in a low point for so long, but I promise I have no intention of abandoning this series. I have invested too much in this to leave it unfinished. I am seeing a counselor now and it is really helping with my mental state. We shall see if it has any positive influence on my writing.

Loki woke to an acute pain in his left arm and the sound of his son burbling to himself. Before he opened his eyes he measured his breaths to bring the pain under control and was annoyed to discover he was incapable of fully controlling the pain. He knew that burns were difficult for his body to recover from quickly.

 

He opened his eyes, trying to ignore the pain, and looked over towards Darcy. She was fast asleep, turned on her side towards him, her hair slipping out of its plait. Elden was awake and staring at the ceiling, tiny fists waving in the air.

 

“Hello,  _ minn niðr _ ,” Loki murmured quietly enough so as not to wake Darcy. “Did you sleep at all?”

 

Elden, of course, did not reply, but at the sound of his father’s voice he tensed in excitement, his voice changing to the happy sounds he made when he knew he was the center of attention. Loki reached over with his injured arm and stroked Elden’s cheek with one finger, extending a tendril of probing though in his son’s direction.

 

Sensing the infant’s approaching hunger, Loki summoned one of his last bottles and warmed it to the correct temperature. “Let’s not wake your mother,  _ mǫgr _ ,” Loki told him as he offered the bottle to his son. “She worked hard to get you back, you know.”

 

Elden latched onto the bottle with his usual enthusiasm, his blue eyes crossing slightly as he focused on his meal. Loki watched Elden suckle for a few moments. The possibility that he may not see his son grow up seemed very real at the moment. He had not been able to see Hela grow up either, or been able to teach her the things his mother had taught him. He wondered briefly what course his life would have taken, had Skuld not enthralled his mind. But no, that did not bear thinking. Whatever grief the Eldest norn had caused him, these last two years with Darcy, with their daughters, and with Elden… he would not trade those years for anything.

 

But his heart was traitorous and he could not help wishing that Hela had been his to raise, to teach and to care for. He had hope for her, that he could cut through Skuld’s influence. Helblindi, however, he held no such sentiment. His blood-sibling had already tried once to kill him. Loki knew they would try again. But Loki had no concern for Helblindi. The Jotun was not his family, regardless of their shared blood. And Loki would do anything necessary to protect his true family.

 

Darcy stirred, groaned faintly, and blinked her eyes open, her gaze immediately finding Loki’s. “Hey,” she muttered thickly. “When d’you wake up?”

 

“A few moments ago,” he assured her. She groaned again and rubbed her face against the pillow before opening her eyes again. 

 

“Pain meds,” she said.

 

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Do you need them?” he asked.

 

“No, for  _ you _ ,” she retorted. “Take some.”

 

Loki rolled his eyes but still summoned the wooden box in which he kept his medicinal supplies. He found the bottle of pain tablets formulated for his metabolism (as opposed to Darcy’s) and swallowed two of the tablets dry. “Are you satisfied?” he asked her dryly.

 

“Hmmph,” she grunted back at him, and took over holding the bottle for Elden. “How many of these do you have left?”

 

“Only one,” Loki replied. “But that should be enough to last until you return to our universe.”

 

Darcy scowled and rubbed her face with her free hand, making a disgruntled sound. “You know what’s going to happen when I go back and you’re still here, right?”

 

Loki blinked and frowned at her. “I don’t.”

 

“The bond won’t work,” she told him. “We won’t be able to feel each other anymore.”

 

Loki felt his breath catch in his throat for a moment, but he managed to keep his thoughts free from his expression. “I did not know that.”

 

“Yeah. Apparently most of my abilities only work in our universe,” Darcy explained. “And if we’re separated by that distance, I can’t reach you here.”

 

“I see,” Loki said gravely. It was not a pleasant concept.

 

“You can’t let that distract you,” Darcy insisted, sounding more awake. She propped herself up on one elbow. “Okay? You have to stay focused. Can you do that?”

 

Loki gave her a wry look. “It has been so long since I have been alone inside my own head that I do not know the answer to that.”

 

Darcy winced, not his intention. “I’m sorry,  _ angan _ , I didn’t mean it like that.”

 

He shook his head at her. “Nor did I. But I am quite adept at handling difficult circumstances, my love. I am sure I will be fine.”

 

“But you  _ always _ say that,” Darcy whined.

 

“And I am always fine,” Loki retorted.

 

“You have a fucked-up definition of ‘fine,’” Darcy muttered, glancing down to see that Elden had finished the bottle some time ago and was staring up at his parents with the nipple still in his mouth. “Oh. Oops.” Darcy removed the bottle, vanished it, and then picked Elden up to hold him to her shoulder, patting his back.

 

“Any more so than yours?” Loki challenged.

 

Darcy stuck her tongue out at him.

 

A woman dressed in scrubs appeared at the open doorway and bustled inside, heading for the machines Loki was still hooked up to. His IV bag had been switched sometime while they had slept. He was slightly concerned he had not noticed, but then again, he  _ had _ been heavily medicated.

 

“Good morning, Mr Odinson. My name is Kenesha, and I’m your nurse for today. How are you feeling?” the nurse asked, staring at the machines and tapping data into a tablet.

 

“Functional,” Loki replied shortly.

 

“All right,” the woman said. “I’m gonna go ahead and change those bandages and take a look at how you’re healing. I’d suggest taking some painkillers before we do that.”

 

“I have already taken some,” Loki said tersely.

 

Kenesha blinked at him. “When? And who administered them to you?”

 

“A few moments ago, and I did,” Loki told her.

 

The woman pressed her lips together. “We can’t properly monitor your condition if you are taking non-approved medication. I’ll need to see the bottle.”

 

“The formula is Asgardian in nature, so the bottle will mean nothing to you,” Loki said. “And it has been formulated specifically for me, so it will not impair me, as yours would.”

 

Kenesha did not look happy and looked to Darcy for assistance, but Loki’s wife only shrugged her shoulders as she continued to pat Elden gently on his back. The infant abruptly let out a prodigious belch and then cooed happily.

 

“All right, then,” Kenesha said. “But please let us know prior to taking anymore outside medication. Miss Lewis, I’ll need you to move, please.”

 

Darcy slid off the hospital bed and moved to a chair in the corner. She held Elden around his middle, allowing him to stand on her knees, which delighted Elden to no end. When the nurse began to peel back the bandages, Loki was grateful Darcy had insisted he take the pain medication. The wounds stuck to the cotton bandages and had to be forcibly removed.

 

The nurse frowned when all the bandages off and she was able to see the wounds. “From what we know of Asgardian physiology, you should be healing faster than this,” she said, sounding worried.

 

“Is all you know of Asgardian physiology what you have learned from my brother?” Loki asked.

 

“Yes,” the nurse said, using the tablet to take images of his arm.

 

“Then it will do you no good,” Loki told her. “Thor is an Aesir. I am not. We are of different races and have different physiology.”

 

The nurse looked up at him with a confused expression. “I am adopted,” Loki explained tightly.

 

“Oh,” the nurse said, blinking a few times.

 

Loki looked down at the still-raw wounds. “Unfortunately, this is normal for me. Burns heal very slowly for my birth race.”

 

“I see,” the nurse said slowly. “Okay. Should we be thinking of skin grafts, then? Because we were told yesterday that wouldn’t be necessary.”

 

“It will not be,” Loki assured her. “I will heal, in my own time. Until then, the wounds simply need to be sanitized and bandaged.”

 

The nurse looked relieved at that. “I can do that.” It did not take her long to spray the wounds down with an antiseptic and re-wrap them. After that she had Loki work his arm into a compression sleeve to try to prevent scarring. Had Loki truly been an Aesir, he would not have to worry about scarring, but as a Jotun, scarring was quite possible.

 

Once this process was complete, the nurse declared Loki fit to leave the hospital room in search of food and coffee, as long as he reported back in the evening. The nurse took down a few more notes and then left after another admonition not to take anymore unapproved medications. She passed Barnes in the doorway on her way out.

 

Loki frowned at the human, wondering how long he had been lurking in the doorway, and why he hadn’t noticed the human’s arrival.

 

“Bucky!” Darcy greeted cheerfully. “Hey. What’s up?”

 

“Breakfast is ready in the kitchen,” Barnes replied in his characteristically soft voice. “Heard the docs were releasing you, so I thought you’d wanna know.” 

 

“Thanks,” Darcy said, standing up. “That’s great. I’m  _ starving _ .”

 

Barnes pushed away from the door and prowled into the room over to Darcy. Loki reacted without thinking, transporting from the bed to in front of Darcy in the space of a blink. Barnes pulled up short, giving Loki a startled look.

 

Loki stared back, equally startled. It had been instinctual, the urge to protect Darcy, and he wasn’t sure what had caused it. “I apologize,” he said with a frown, and stepped to the side. Darcy eyed him uncertainly.

 

“You okay, babe?” she asked softly.

 

“Yes, of course,” he replied quickly. 

 

Barnes gave him a flat, unconvinced look before turning back to Darcy. “How’s the kid?” he asked.

 

“Much less traumatized than his mother,” Darcy said wryly. She turned Elden so Barnes could see his face. “Look at him. Fat and happy.”

 

Barnes tilted his head as he stared at the infant for several long, silent seconds. Darcy looked up at Barnes. “D’you wanna hold him?” she asked at length.

 

Barnes jerked backwards abruptly. “No,” he said sharply. “Uh...no. Not a good idea.”

 

Darcy raised her eyebrows. “Okay,” she said slowly. “It’s not like you’re gonna break him. He’s only half human, you know.”

 

“No,” Barnes said again, back to his quiet, unassuming tone. “Just glad he’s okay.”

 

“Well, thank you,” Darcy replied.

 

Barnes turned to leave, then spun back on his heel, gray eyes fixed on Loki. Again, Loki felt his hackles raise and he wasn’t sure what set him off. He  _ knew _ Barnes was an ally, but something about the human put him on edge. Maybe it was because Barnes could slip past all of Loki’s senses, moving unnoticed.

 

“I remembered something last night,” Barnes said. “Still happens sometimes. Things… just come back.”

 

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” he prompted.

 

“Have you ever been to Oskolkovo?” Barnes asked.

 

Loki was slightly taken aback. “Yes, actually, I have,” he said slowly. “Why?”

 

Barnes licked his lips nervously and glanced to the side briefly. “I, uh, I was with the Red Room. For a while. They used to tell the girls there, about a green man with a knife who killed a hundred men with guns, and stole the little girls away.” Barnes paused, his head twitching to the side. “They told the girls, follow orders or the green man would come and steal them away.”

 

“Oh my God,” Darcy said, raising one hand to her mouth. “Loki, they told  _ ghost stories _ about you!”

 

“So it would seem,” Loki said, still feeling slightly confused.

 

“So it was true,” Barnes pressed. “Your girls, they’re from the Red Room?”

 

“Yeah,” Darcy replied for Loki. “We rescued them in 1947.”

 

Barnes’ head twitched again. “1947,” he said flatly, not quite a question.

 

“Time travel,” Darcy explained. “My bad.”

 

Barnes nodded slowly. “Neat,” he said. He licked his lips again. “Better get some food before Rogers eats it all. He’s got a big appetite these days.”

 

“Yeah,” Darcy muttered. “Between him and Thor, they can really clean a place out.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Barnes muttered to himself. He nodded to Darcy, and then to Loki, and then turned to stalk out of the room. Loki frowned. Barnes moved as if he was on the hunt at all times, even when he was not. Perhaps that was what caused Loki’s defensive reactions. He would need to temper himself around the human. He had no desire to give Barnes a reason to distrust him.

 

“You should eat something,” Darcy told him. “I know the painkillers take your appetite away, but you need to eat if you’re going to heal properly.”

 

“Yes,  _ elskede _ ,” Loki told her in mild exasperation. “I am aware.”

 

“Dude, though!” Darcy went on excitedly. “The Red Room told horror stories about you! How  _ badass _ is that?”

 

Loki frowned at her. “I thought you did not approve of my actions there,” he reminded her.”

 

Darcy shrugged. “Yeah, well, I’ve had time to reconcile myself with it.” She abruptly handed Elden to Loki, who took him with his right arm, and started rummaging through her pockets. “I wonder if Natasha ever heard those stories when she was kid.” She finally pulled out the object she was looking for. “They removed this last night. Do you want to keep it or shall I?”

 

Loki looked down at the plain gold band resting on her palm. “Can you keep it for me, for now?” Loki asked her. 

 

Darcy chewed on her lower lip for a minute. “Okay,” she said, and vanished it to her pocket dimension for safekeeping. She had given him the band not long after their move to Pennsylvania, and had pestered him about wanting something so simple until he had finally explained that the very fact that it  _ was _ so simple would stand out among the highly-stylized Asgardian jewelry.

 

Loki did not want to have the wedding band in his own pocket dimension in the event that he was killed, as all the items in his pocket dimension would be lost to the ether. Darcy knew of the Asgardian tradition of widows wearing their late spouses’ jewelry, which was no doubt why she was uncomfortable holding it for him.

 

Neither of them spoke until they reached the kitchens, where all the others, both from their own universe and from this one, had gathered for the morning meal.

 

“Brother!” Thor greeted, rising from his seat. “Your injuries, how are they?”

 

“I am fine,” Loki replied irritably. “I am not an invalid, Thor.”

 

“No, but those burns were pretty serious,” Romanoff commented, leaning back in her chair, her mug of coffee in her hands. “Bad enough that you might wanna sit out the next round.”

 

Loki shook his head. “No. Hela and Helblindi are both quite skilled in magic, and you have no one to match them.”

 

“I dunno,” Romanoff said dubiously. “We have Wanda and Vision.”

 

Loki looked at both the girl and the purple man. “As I said,” he repeated. “You have no one to match them.”

 

Wanda scowled at him. “ _ Pomposul nebun, _ ” she muttered under her breath, stabbing her spoon into her porridge with more force than necessary. Loki didn’t need Allspeak to understand her intent. Vision gave him a flat look from his artificial eyes and said nothing.

 

Darcy elbowed him in the ribs. “You’re an ass, sometimes, you know,” she told him.

 

Loki sniffed and didn’t reply.

 

XxxXxxX

 

The Way was still in place in the facility’s gym, a matte black doorway into another universe. It rippled slightly, more felt than seen, faint variations in the hum of magic that permeated everything. It was just barely out of synch with the rhythm of this universe, but not quite enough to cause a discord.

 

Loki stood beside Darcy on the training mat in front of the Way. The others were gathered around the edge of the room, even though they had been told they would see nothing other than Darcy disappearing. Stark had several monitoring devices set up, as well.

 

“I know I agreed to this, but now that I actually have to do it, this idea sucks,” Darcy told him in a quiet voice.

 

“I don’t like it any more than you,” Loki assured her, his hand resting on her shoulder. “But it is necessary.”

 

Darcy frowned and stared up at him for a long moment. She looked exactly as she had the day he’d met her, which wasn’t surprising, even for a human. Two years did not do much to change a person. Had it only been two years? It felt like a lifetime.

 

“Don’t do anything stupid,” she admonished him.

 

“Since when have I  _ ever _ done anything stupid?” Loki countered.

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I can think of a few things,” she replied. Her expression softened. “Seriously, though, Loki. Be careful. Come back safe.” She hesitated for a moment, then added, “And bring Hela back too. Just… God. I can’t even ask you not to sacrifice yourself for her, can I? She’s your kid. I’d do the same for any of ours.”

 

Loki felt something release itself in his chest at her admission. There. She finally understood. “As you said,” he told her. “I would do the same for  _ any _ of my children.”

 

Darcy blinked suddenly watery eyes and looked down at Elden, who was dozing lightly in her arms. Loki could feel the storm of emotions welling within her, could sense Ragnarok seething far too close to the surface. He put his other hand on her other shoulder and squeezed slightly.

 

“I will not tell you not to worry,” he said softly. “I will not tell you I will be fine. I haven’t the stomach to lie to you anymore. But I will tell you this. I will do everything in my power to come home to you. I just cannot prioritize my life over that of my daughter’s.”

 

Darcy nodded. “I know,” she said in a thick voice. She looked back up at him. “Do what you have to. Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it. We always do.”

 

“Yes, we do,” Loki agreed. He leaned down to kiss her briefly. “Safe travels,  _ elskede _ .”

 

She nodded again. “Find glory in battle,  _ angan _ ,” she replied. She held Elden tighter against her chest and turned toward the Way, walking forward with slow steps. She hesitated on the threshold, but then stepped through without looking back.

 

All the places where she fit into his mind abruptly vanished, leaving hollowness in their wake. It was as if half his brain had been carved from his skull, taking half his senses with it. Loki reeled backwards, found his balance again, and reached up to clutch his lowered head in his hands. He focused on his breaths, in and out, until he could regain control of himself.

 

He flinched when Thor put a heavy hand on his shoulder, but his brother was no longer deterred by such reactions. “Loptr,” he asked in a low voice. “Are you well?”

 

“I will be fine,” Loki said, the lie coming as easy as breathing. He lifted his head and shook himself like a dog. “I am fine,” he said again when Thor gave him an unconvinced look.

 

“Well, back to business, then, shall we?” Stark said loudly, checking his devices. “Vis, what’s the update on our alien invaders?”

 

“According to the radiation signature from the transdimensional energies, Hela and Helblindi crossed the border just south of Montreal but did not go into the city. They turned west and are currently heading towards St Lawrence River,” the strange man reported.

 

“All right,” said the Rogers that belonged to this universe. “Everyone gear up. Let’s go.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Travelling through a Way to another universe was very different from travelling through a Way to another planet. When one was merely going from one planet to another, the journey was the length of a heartbeat, and as easy as taking a single step. When one travelled to another universe, it was much more… eventful.

 

When Darcy stumbled out of the other side of the Way, she was too distracted by the sudden loss of Loki in her head to notice that she had a welcoming committee. Someone took Elden from her, which she allowed because subconsciously she knew she was in a safe place despite her whole brain screaming at the loss of her lagsmaðr.

 

“Darcy,” she heard Jane say. “Hey, Darce, you okay?”

 

When Jane grabbed Darcy by the shoulders, the physical contact soothed something in Darcy’s head, allowing her to think just a little bit clearer. She reached out blindly and pulled Jane into a tight hug, burying her face against the shorter woman’s neck. Jane stroked her hair, murmuring softly into her ear.

 

“I got you,” Jane said. “I got you. It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay.”

 

It didn’t feel like Loki had  _ died _ , just that he was inexplicably  _ gone _ , and even though Darcy knew, intellectually, what had happened, the norn inside of her was freaking the fuck out. She took deep gulps of air until she managed to get herself under control.

 

“That’s it,” Jane said, moving to rubbing Darcy’s back. “You got it. You’re gonna be fine.”

 

Darcy swallowed thickly. “Thanks,” she croaked.

 

Jane squeezed her and leaned back so she could see Darcy’s face. “You good?” she asked, her brown eyes concerned.

 

Darcy nodded and looked around for her son. Brenna was standing off to the side, Elden in her arms. She curtsied slightly. “Welcome back, my lady,” she greeted with a nervous smile.

 

“Brenna,” Darcy replied. “Hey. How are you?”

 

“I am completely healed, my lady,” Brenna assured her. 

 

“Good,” Darcy said sincerely. “That’s really good.” Darcy scanned the rest of the room and saw Wyrd and the rest of her sisters waiting. Her stomach twisted and she felt Sigyn stir deep in her psyche.

 

_ “Child, please,” _ Sigyn whispered.  _ “Let us explain.” _

 

_ I  _ really _ don’t want to talk to you right now _ , Darcy replied harshly, and Sigyn withdrew, unhappy but resigned.

 

Wyrd stepped forward, her expression welcoming, but Darcy gave her a cold look and shook her head. Wyrd stopped, confused, but inclined her head in acknowledgement. Embla looked downright hurt, and Darcy hated to see that on her sister’s face, but she didn’t think she could handle dealing with the other norns right now, not until she got everything with Sigyn sorted out.

 

“Where’s my mom and the girls?” Darcy asked Jane.

 

“In the playroom,” Jane told her. “We didn’t want the girls getting over excited.”

 

“I want to see them,” Darcy said.

 

“Of course.” Jane slipped her hand into Darcy’s and tugged her along. “Oh, um, by the way, is Thor--”

 

“He’s fine,” Darcy assured her. “Totally fine.”

 

“Oh, good,” Jane breathed. She looked down at their joined hands. “We haven’t gotten a chance to talk about… you know…”

 

“You and me being soul sisters?” Darcy asked dryly.

 

Jane smiled. “Yeah. I like the sound of that, though. Soul sisters.” Her smile faded. “Are you sure you’re okay, though? It feels like something’s bothering you.”

 

“There is, and I would love to tell you all about but right now I really want to see my daughters and Fenris,” Darcy said in a rush.

 

“Okay, fair enough,” Jane replied.

 

When Darcy stepped through the doorway into the playroom, there was a moment of stunned stillness, and then she was tackled by six small human-shaped cannonballs and one large wolf-shaped projectile. The force of the greeting was enough to knock her painfully on her ass but Darcy didn’t care one bit. Each child had to be kissed, hugged, kissed again, hugged one more time, and assured that yes, she was really back for good and was not leaving again.

 

“Did you find Eldie?” Astra demanded, holding onto Darcy’s shoulder and jumping up and down in her excitement.

 

“Yup,” Darcy told her as Brenna stepped into the room.

 

The girls squealed in excitement and mobbed Brenna next, demanding access to their baby brother. Fenris stayed next to Darcy and licked her chin.

 

“Hey, big boy,” Darcy cooed, scrubbing her hands in Fenris’ thick fur ruff. “Did you take care of your sisters for me?” Fenris “wuffed” quietly and licked Darcy’s face again.

 

Joanna walked over and offered Darcy a hand up in order to pull her into a tight hug. “Hi, Mom,” Darcy whispered.

 

“Hey, baby girl,” Joanna whispered back. “You okay?’

 

“Sort of,” Darcy replied. She broke away so she could see her mother’s face. “It’s good to be back but…”

 

“It was hard to leave Loki,” Joanna finished for her. “Oh, honey. I know. Trust me. I know.”

 

Darcy nodded. “Can you keep an eye on Elden for me? There’s something I have to do.”

 

Joanna frowned. “Sure, honey. Anything you need.”

 

Darcy smiled weakly and hugged her mother quickly again. “Thanks, Mom.” She turned and caught Jane’s eye. The other woman fell into step beside Darcy as they made their way down the hall.

 

“Where are we going?” Jane asked.

 

“To talk to Yggdrasil,” Darcy replied.

 

“Okay…” Jane said slowly. “Why?”

 

“Because it’s high time I had an existential crisis and I sure as hell don’t want to do it alone,” Darcy told her.

 

Jane was silent for a few paces. “Darce, what happened over there?”

 

“I met myself,” Darcy said tersely.

 

“And?” Jane prompted.

 

“She wasn’t a norn,” Darcy said.

 

Jane almost missed her next step. “ _ What _ ?” she demanded shrilly. “How is that--Did you--Was she--?”

 

“Trust me, we are going to hash out every detail,” Darcy assured her. “But I really need to have it out with Yggdrasil first because  _ boy _ does it have a lot to answer for.”

 

Darcy felt Jane stare at her for several seconds, her head full of burning questions. “You’re really going to go bust the ass of the universe?” Jane asked skeptically.

 

“You bet I am,” Darcy replied firmly as the reached the room with the Well. When they arrived in the chamber amid the roots of Yggdrasil, Darcy glared up at the manifestation of the universe and set her hands on her hips.

 

“What. The infernal. Fuck,” she said. Yggdrasil stared back down at her, expression hidden by the cowl of vines and leaves around its head. Its glowing, green-gold eyes were unblinking, and gave nothing away. 

 

“Maybe you should explain what you’re upset about?” Jane suggested delicately.

 

“Why me?” Darcy demanded, not acknowledging Jane. “Of everyone on this planet, why did  _ I  _ have to be Sigyn’s vessel. Because guess who I met in the other universe. Me  _ without _ Sigyn! That could have been me! That could have been my life!”

 

BUT IT IS NOT, Yggdrasil rumbled.

 

“Why not?” Darcy resisted the urge to stamp her foot and ignored the shrill not in her voice. “This whole time I thought that I existed  _ for _ Sigyn, that I was conceived specifically for her, to be her vessel. But as it turns out, I’m my own person and Sigyn just took over. And I never got a choice in the matter!”

 

YOU WERE CHOSEN, Yggdrasil told her.

 

“But  _ I _ didn’t make that choice!” Darcy yelled at it. “I didn’t get any choice at all! All of the shit I’ve been through and no one ever asked me if this was what I wanted!”

 

YOU WERE CHOSEN AS THE MOST IDEAL VESSEL, Yggdrasil said, unperturbed by Darcy’s ire. It’s unflappable calm did nothing but irritate Darcy even more.

 

“I don’t give a shit about that!” she raged. “You can’t just take over people’s lives like that without permission. I could have had a whole life just as  _ Darcy _ !”

 

WOULD YOU HAVE WANTED THAT LIFE? Yggdrasil asked pointedly.

 

“That’s not the  _ point _ ,” Darcy insisted. “I had to sacrifice  _ everything _ to be Sigyn’s vessel. My whole life changed. I’m  _ not _ just a vessel. I’m  _ not _ just a body for Sigyn to use. I’m a  _ person _ !  _ Darcy _ is a person and Sigyn is a fucking  _ parasite _ !”

 

THE NORNS MUST EXIST. SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE, Yggdrasil replied.

 

“That is complete  _ bullshit _ ,” Darcy snarled. “You don’t get to sit there and choose which lives are more important than others.”

 

Yggdrasil stepped forward, drawing itself up to its full height in order to loom over Darcy. YES, it said. WE DO.

 

“That’s not how this works,” Darcy retorted. “No one life is more important than--”

 

Darcy had gotten complacent in her dealings with Yggdrasil. She had let herself think that they were equals, that they were on the same playing field.

 

Boy was she wrong.

 

Yggdrasil let the full force of its existence slam into her with the force of a falling star, ripping her defenses to shreds. Darcy distantly felt her back hit the soft dirt floor. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t think. It was as if she was drowning under the weight of Yggdrasil.

 

IT IS OUR DUTY TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF THIS UNIVERSE, Yggdrasil informed her, still in the same calm, emotionless voice. AS SUCH WE MUST PRIORITIZE THOSE WHO WILL BE MOST USEFUL IN THIS ENDEAVOR. YOU SAY NO LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANOTHER. YOU ARE WRONG.

 

The world suddenly shifted and Darcy found herself within Yggdrasil, an eternity of stars laid out before her, billions upon billions of lives scattered among them each one so tiny and fleeting it was impossible to tell them apart.

 

THEIR EPHEMERAL LIVES ARE INSIGNIFICANT, Yggdrasil told Darcy. THEY LIVE AND DIE AND THEY MAKE NO IMPRESSION. THEIR LIVES HAVE NO MEANING. BUT SOME BURN BRIGHTER THAN OTHERS. SOME HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CHANCE WORLDS. THESE MUST BE USED IN THE MOST EFFICIENT MANNER POSSIBLE.

 

THE NORNS ARE USEFUL, Yggdrasil continued. THEIR PURPOSE COINCIDES WITH OURS. THEY MUST CONTINUE. SIGYN MUST CONTINUE. DARCY LEWIS IS USEFUL AS SIGYN’S VESSEL. WE GIVE HER LIFE MEANING. OTHERWISE, SHE IS AS ANY OTHER.

 

The vastness of the universe vanished, and then Darcy was surrounded by soft, amber light and a slow, deep pulsing sound. The infinite weight of Yggdrasil’s consciousness lifted, and she felt comforted, protected.

 

WE DO NOT TELL YOU THESE THINGS TO CAUSE YOU DESPAIR ,Yggdrasil said in a soft, quiet voice, right in Darcy’s ear.  WE ONLY WISH YOU TO SEE THE CHOICES WE MUST MAKE ON BEHALF OF ALL LIVES, NOT JUST ONE OR TWO.

 

“ _ Child, _ ” Sigyn said from within Darcy’s mind. “ _ I understand your pain, and I understand why you are angry. But you must see. You were chosen with purpose _ .”

 

“But what if I didn’t want this?” Darcy whispered back plaintively.

 

“ _ Would you change things, if you could? _ ” Sigyn asked.

 

Darcy thought about that for a long time. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted. “Without you, I wouldn’t have Loki, or Elden… the girls… Fenris.”

 

“ _ If I gave you the chance now, to be Darcy and Darcy only, would you take it? _ ”

 

“Can you do that?” Darcy asked. “Is that even possible?”

 

“ _ We could find a way, I am sure _ .”

 

Darcy wasn’t sure how long she considered that, considered every possibility and weighed every option. To be a normal human girl. To finish her degree. Maybe go back to school. To go to Temple on Saturdays and spend Rosh Hashanah with her parents. To never again have to worry about aliens and kings and superheroes and the million other crazy things that came with being a norn.

 

Would she give that all up to be just Darcy Lewis, human?

 

“No,” she said at length. “I can’t be that person. I can’t be just Darcy. Not after everything I’ve been through.”

 

“ _ Perhaps that is why you were chosen, _ ” Sigyn replied.

 

“Don’t think I”m not still pissed as hell at you,” Darcy muttered.

 

Sigyn chuckled. “ _ I would expect nothing less from you, child. Never have I had a vessel as independent and single-minded as you. _ ”

 

“Yeah, well, looks like we’re stuck with each other for now,” Darcy retorted. “Okay, Yggdrasil. You’ve made your point. Take me back.”

 

She blinked her eyes open and found herself once more in the roots of the World Tree, flat on her back on the dirt floor. Jane knelt beside her, giving her an unamused look.

 

“I’m new to all of this and even  _ I _ know it’s a bad idea to back-talk the entire damn universe, Darcy Lewis,” she said as soon as she saw Darcy was awake.

 

“Not the smartest move I’ve ever made,” Darcy admitted.

 

Jane nodded slowly. “So. You wanna tell me what other you was like?”

 

Darcy took a deep, slow breath. “Yeah. Just give me a minute.”


	22. I'm Fired Up And Tired Of The Way That Things Have Been

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Remember me? Probably not because it's been forever and a day since I've updated. Sorry about that. I keep getting distracted by other things. I have so many WIPs that it makes me cry every time I open Google Docs. But as I've said before, I am going to get this series finished come hell or high water or, you know, adulthood. Gotta love adult life.
> 
> Anywho... There's some untranslated languages in this chapter, either because they are curse words or because it's funnier that way. Don't sweat it.
> 
> Also I am leaving for England in 6 days for my annual pilgrimage to the parents. I will only be gone 2 weeks this time instead of 3 and I will probably update because I will finally have time to myself. Imagine that: having to go to another freakin' continent to get time to do a bit of writing. Adult life is hard.

Wanda cornered Loki as the others prepared themselves for their next confrontation with Hela and Helblindi. As Loki’s armor needed but a thought to summon and Wanda’s consisted of nothing but a leather coat and skin-tight trousers, they were the first to be ready.

 

“You do not think I am a match for the aliens?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

 

Loki sighed but continued to check the hidden sheaths of his various throwing knives. “If you are anything like the Wanda Maximoff from my universe,” he said, trying to temper his impatience, “Then you have a great deal of talent and power. However, you are very young, and you have not had your powers long. Hela has been trained from birth, and Helblindi is a great deal older than you.”

 

He finished his check and faced the girl. “So no, I do not think you are a match for them. But I think you will still give them Hel.”

 

Wanda appeared as if she was not sure whether she was flattered or not by his statement. She uncrossed her arms. “Why would Hela give you your son back after kidnapping him?” she demanded.

 

Loki shrugged. “Why would you choose to help the Avengers after working for Hydra?”

 

She seemed taken aback. “Because it was the right thing to do,” she replied defensively.

 

He raised an eyebrow. “Precisely.” He stepped past her into the hallway, heading towards back entrance. The human girl fell into step beside him. She stared at him with narrowed eyes. Loki ignored her as he walked towards the building exit to the landing pad.

 

Rogers and Barnes were at the doorway, Rogers visibly impatient. Barnes was kneeling on the ground, Rogers’ shield propped up against the wall in front of him. He appeared to be working on the straps with a couple of small tools.

 

“Bucky, it’s  _ fine _ ,” Rogers was saying. “It’s just a little loose.”

 

“It matters,” Barnes growled back. “It’ll affect your control of the shield.”

 

“I can adjust,” Rogers insisted.

 

Barnes raised his head to glare at Rogers with steely eyes. Rogers immediately stilled, shoulders drooping. “Okay, Buck,” he said softly.

 

Barnes nodded, satisfied, and went back to work. He finished, shoved the tools into a pocket of his Asgardian tunic, and yanked on the straps a few times before standing and handing the shield back to Rogers.

 

“Thanks,” Rogers said, securing it to the harness on his back.

 

“If I’m stuck with you again, I’m not gonna let you get hurt because of a dumb mistake,” Barnes muttered. “Someone’s gotta watch your back.”

 

Rogers flushed bright red. Loki tilted his head, noting the reaction. Interesting. His observation was cut short by Thor’s arrival, followed shortly by the rest of this universe’s Avengers.

 

“Okay,” the Other Rogers announced. “It looks like the hostiles have stopped just south of Port Lewis on the St Lawrence River.”

 

“Port Lewis?” Loki’s Rogers asked, and then snorted. “Ironic.”

 

“Again, we have no satellite imagery, so we don’t know what they have planned,” the Other Rogers continued. “Once we get there, Sam and Vision are going to do air recon, get the lay of the land. Wanda, you’re gonna stick with Loki. Once we get a bead on Hela and Helblindi’s location, the two of you are going in hot. If they’ve deployed the scepter again, we’ll need you two to keep them occupied while we take care of the civilians. Vision will join you as soon as he can. Questions or comments?”

 

“It would be preferable if we could capture Hela and Helblindi alive,” Loki said mildly, not giving anything away in his voice. “Both of them need to face justice from Asgard.”

 

The Other Rogers nodded sharply. “Of course. Capture alive, if possible.” He looked around at the group of them and stopped on Thor. “Thor, if you could--”

 

“I will fight at my brother’s side,” Thor said before Rogers could finish, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

There was a moment where everyone stared at Thor, but no one dared say anything. Loki clenched his jaw. He found his patience thinner than usual, now, with his head empty of his wife’s presence. “I do not need to be minded,” he said sharply in the First Tongue.

 

“The last time you faced Helblindi, you were badly injured,” Thor retorted in the same language. “You have not yet recovered. You will need more than a mortal witch to fight beside you.”

 

“My injuries were caused by my own recklessness,” Loki pointed out. “I will not make that mistake again.”

 

“Even so,” Thor insisted.

 

“Thor, I do not need you to--” Loki began, frustrated.

 

“You were wounded,” Thor cut him off brusquely, glaring at Loki.

 

“Not for the first time, nor the last,” Loki replied archly.

 

“You are my brother,” Thor told him, his voice intense. “I let you enter battle alone and you were wounded. I will not let that happen again.”

 

“Aðumbla’s teats, Thor,” Loki burst out. “You cannot possibly prevent  _ every _ injury. I am a warrior, just the same as you.”

 

Thor strode across the floor to crowd into Loki’s personal space. Because it was Thor, Loki did not step back, despite his discomfort. He hated having to look up at anyone, even Thor. “You were a prisoner in your own mind for seven centuries,” Thor said in a low voice. “And I did nothing. I _knew_ nothing. And I was not the one to free you. Now we enter war together, as we used to, and twice now you have been injured while I did nothing. I will not make that mistake a third time.”

 

“You are not responsible for keeping me safe, Thor,” Loki snapped.

 

“But I am!” Thor growled back. “ _ I _ am the elder. Father asked _ me _ to watch over you!”

 

Loki finally took a step back, putting distance between them, and Thor, to his credit, did not pursue him, perhaps realizing Loki’s discomfort. “ _ Why _ would Father ask that of you?” Loki demanded. “And when?”

 

“After your son was born, when you left Asgard,” Thor replied, hefting Mjolnir in one hand as was his habit. “He bid me follow you to Midgard, to watch over you, as he said he could not bear to lose you, not after everything.”

 

Loki opened his mouth to reply but no words came. He could not believe that  _ Father _ had said such things to Thor, of all people, to admit to such emotions. To voice such obvious affection for his younger son, the rebel, the outsider, the adopted one.

 

Thor started to reach for Loki and stopped, dropping his arm again. “Loki, please,” he said softly. “Let me fight by your side, as we did when we were children. Let me be your brother.”

 

Words still eluded Loki, and his throat felt closed and tight. He looked away from Thor’s intense gaze, saw the rest of their party watching the two Asgardian princes with avid interest, and resisted the urge to flush with embarrassment. He finally nodded jerkily to Thor.

 

“You guys done?” the Other Rogers asked dryly, looking between the two of them.

 

“Yes,” Thor rumbled. “I will stay by Loki’s side.”

 

“Fine,” the Other Rogers said. “Let’s get loaded up.”

 

Loki hung back as the others headed for the quinjet, needing a moment to regain his equilibrium. Barnes hung back as well, which Loki found he did not mind. When the two of them were alone, Barnes spoke in his soft, emotionless voice.

 

“Don’t fight it too hard,” he told Loki. “They get protective. They can’t help it. It’s who they are. You tell them no, they take it personally.”

 

Loki stared at Barnes for a moment. The mortal did not have any outward signs of his ordeal. His borrowed Asgardian clothing was neat and well-kept, even after battle. His hair was pulled back tightly at the nape of his neck and his stubble had been shaved down to avoid the appearance of a beard. His eyes were clear and his hands, both metal and flesh, were steady. Loki wondered if it was all an act, as it had been for him, when he had been so newly freed.

 

“Yes,” Loki said at length. Barnes eyed him for a moment and then nodded.

 

“They’ll get better at it,” he said. “I think.” He grimaced. “I hope.”

 

Loki chuckled humorlessly. “Yes, I do too.”

 

Barnes nodded again. “C’mon. Let’s go get your kid back.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Loki spent most of the journey in the quinjet glaring at Thor, who was studiously ignoring him. Loki was a grown man and had been a skilled warrior since he was a boy. He did not need his brother hovering over him, keeping him from injury. It irked him that their father would order Thor to do so, and irked him further that Thor had agreed. Loki was perfectly capable of handling himself against one sorceror no more skilled than he.

 

He said one, because he firmly believed that, if he confronted her, Hela would now refuse to do battle with him. Something had changed over the few days she had care of her infant brother. Loki did not know what had caused her change of heart, but he was intensely grateful for it. The thought of having to do battle with his own daughter frightened and repulsed him. He would quite willingly sacrifice himself rather than cause her harm.

 

“We’re almost to the LZ,” Romanoff announced from the cockpit. “We’re still not picking anything up from the satellite imagery.”

 

“I imagine Hela was trained rigorously in veils,” Loki replied, raising his voice slightly over the sound of the engine. “I doubt Skuld was negligent in that area of study.”

 

Romanoff gave him a strange look. “How would you know?” she demanded.

 

“Oh, I am  _ intimately _ familiar with Skuld’s training methods,” Loki told her, his tone arid. Thor peered at him with a concerned expression, which Loki returned with another forbidding glare.

 

“Did this Skuld person train you?”Wilson probed.

 

“Not… entirely,” Loki said flatly, and refused to elaborate.

 

“You have any idea what they might throw at us?” Other Rogers asked.

 

“Helblindi is a Jotun, so they will utilize ice and water magicks. The closer to the water, the stronger they will become,” Loki told the group. He tilted his head to the side, trying to imagine his daughter’s thought processes. “Hela is skilled at heat and energy magicks, but she has a few other tricks up her sleeve. She’s quite good at making golems.”

 

“ _ Hræ uhellig _ ,” Thor muttered, not quite softly enough for Loki not to hear. The curse itself didn’t bother Loki; he had heard Thor say far worse. But for it to be said in relation to his child…

 

“ _ Þegja _ ,” he spat at Thor, who grimaced apologetically.

 

“You know, whenever you guys want to speak English…” Wilson said dryly.

 

“Может быть, тогда вы должны изучить другой язык,” Barnes said, and Romanoff snorted. 

 

Wilson scowled at Barnes. “Ok. Now you’re just showing off.”

 

Barnes shrugged, his expression unreadable.

 

“Everyone hang onto your asses,” Romanoff announced. “We’re going in.”

 

Loki assumed the steep descent was intended to counteract any offense Hela and Helblindi could offer, or it could simply be how Romanoff always landed. Barton had done most of the flying during Loki’s time with the Avengers. In any case, they reached the ground swiftly, leaving all the humans looking nauseated.

 

“Really, Tasha?” Wilson asked, rising to his feet on wobbly legs.

 

“We didn’t crash,” she replied shortly. “Be grateful.”

 

“Yeah, that’d be preferable,” Loki’s Rogers said dryly. “Done enough of that recently, thanks.”

 

“Were you flying?” Barnes asked, giving Rogers an annoyed look.

 

“Not the last time, no,” Rogers said defensively.

 

“Gee, ain’t that a surprise,” Barnes said, pushing past Rogers as the ramp lowered. “Idiot actually  _ did _ learn something.”

 

Rogers remain rooted to the spot, eyes wide, staring at the back of his friend’s head. Then his face suffused with blood. “Hey!” he yelled, striding after Barnes. “ _ You _ try forcing a plane down with half the controls broken and a cargo full of energy bombs!”

 

“You could have at least given them your coordinates!” Barnes retorted.

 

“Who have you been talking to?” Rogers demanded.

 

“Barton,” Barnes replied.

 

Rogers shook his head. “I’m gonna kill Clint.”

 

“Doesn’t change the fact you’re a dumbass, Rogers,” Barnes informed him.

 

“Gentlemen!” Romanoff said, raising her voice. The two men, who had been oblivious to everyone staring at them, turned to her with identical expressions.

 

“What?” they asked at the same time.

 

“Really don’t think now is the time,” Romanoff said, not hiding her amusement.

 

“She’s right,” Other Rogers said in a strange voice, his eyes fixed on Barnes. “The energy signature from the Scepter is coming from three klicks north. Sam, Vision, you should get up there and try to get us a visual.”

 

“On it,” Wilson said, extending his arms. The metal wings expanded outwards as the engine strapped to his back carried him airborne. Vision nodded once and simply seemed to float upwards. Loki watched him ascend until he was clear of the trees surrounding their landing area. He hadn’t found time to ask about the android’s origin, or why he carried this universe’s Mind Stone. He could think of worse guardians for an Infinity Stone, but it still raised questions.

 

“Wanda, Thor, Loki, you’d better head off,” Other Rogers continued. “Let us know when you’ve engaged.”

 

The Avengers in this universe had developed comms for Wanda that were shielded from her powers, so Loki had been given her spare on the off chance that his powers worked along the same lines. He doubted it, as they were of completely different species and had received their abilities in different manners, but he was willing to at least try.

 

As they turned toward the trees, Loki spoke to Wanda in a low voice. “Please remember, Hela is a child. She is angry and frightened and alone. She is not evil.”

 

Wanda gave him a level look. “I know what that feels like,” she said. “I won’t forget that.”

 

Loki nodded at her. “Thank you.”

 

The human girl frowned up at him. “Why is it so important?” she asked. “That Hela is not hurt?”

 

Loki considered the benefits of telling her the truth. “She was raised by a cruel woman,” he said at length. “Who was deep in insanity well before she gained custody of Hela. Hela never stood a chance against her.”

 

“You want to save her,” Wanda observed, her eyes on Loki’s face.

 

“I do,” Loki replied firmly.

 

“Good,” Wanda said with a nod. “Then let us go save her.”

 

“But not Helblindi,” Thor put in. “I have no intention to save them.”

 

Loki rolled his eyes at his brother. “Helblindi must stand trial, Thor,” he said testily.

 

“I am the crown prince of Asgard,” Thor retorted. “I am all the trial they deserve.”

 

“Not with Asgard,” Loki told him impatiently. “With the norns.”

 

Thor snorted. “Mjolnir would be far merciful than that.”

 

“Nevertheless,” Loki insisted. 

 

“Yes, as you wish,” Thor said, hefting the hammer in his hand. “Even with what they have done, there is pity in my heart for Helblindi at the thought of his fate at the hands of the norns.”

 

“Why?” Wanda demanded. “What will these norns do to him?”

 

“If Darcy has her way, she will take him to pieces,” Loki muttered. He glance at the girl. “I do mean that literally. I have seen her do it before.”

 

“To pieces?” Wanda echoed.

 

“It will not be the first of her enemies she has turned to dust,” Loki said grimly.

 

Wanda looked torn between horror and fascination, and finally settled on contemplation. The three walked in silence through the trees towards the river, Loki’s senses extended as far as he could reach. He picked up a flicker of magic while they were still some distance from the river and stopped walking. Wanda stopped at his side but Thor kept walking a few paces before he realized he was alone.

 

“What is it, brother?” Thor demanded, turning to look at Loki.

 

“Hela is close by,” Loki said, his eyes distant as he searched through the trees, trying to pinpoint her location. Her magic was scattered through the forest, a hundred presences that could be hers. Either she was capable of creating more copies of herself than Loki could, or…

 

“ _ Faen _ ,” Loki muttered, a second before the first golem rose from the dirt and leaves underfoot. It appeared directly beside Thor, who stepped back and swung Mjolnir with all his might. The golem exploded in a shower of earth and bits of tree root, and did not reform.

 

Three more golems clawed their way from the dirt between Thor and Loki, and more appeared surrounding them. Loki flung out his hand, sending an energy blast into the nearest golem while Wanda pushed the others back, sending them smashing into trees.

 

All of the golems disintegrated at the first assault, which deeply surprised Loki. Golems were supposed to be unstoppable creatures. The only way to destroy them was to kill the sorcerer controlling them. Which meant…

 

“Thor!” Loki called as Thor continued to batter the golems to pieces. “ _ Thor _ !” Thor turned his head slightly towards Loki without taking his attention off the golems. “She is only trying to slow us down!” Loki told his brother.

 

Thor abruptly stopped engaging the golems and stepped back. Loki, likewise, went still. Wanda, seeing them, followed suit. The golems shuffled around, not attacking. They stared at the three with blank, empty faces, waiting. Thor tried to take a step forward, and the golems closed their formation, blocking his way.

 

“Why are they not attacking?” Wanda hissed at Loki.

 

“I do not think Hela wants to hurt us,” Loki replied. “Just to keep us from advancing.”

 

Thor grimaced, hefting Mjolnir in his hand. “I will hold them here,” he said reluctantly. “Take the mortal witch and find Hela.”

 

“I have a name,” Wanda told Thor indignantly.

 

“Are you sure?” Loki asked Thor, ignoring Wanda.

 

Thor growled. “Yes. Just go.” He abruptly raised his hammer over his head and, with a loud bellow, charged forward at the golems. The golems piled into Thor, dragging him down to the ground, and he disappeared under a heap of dirt and tree roots, yelling challenges and curses the entire time.

 

Loki reached out and grabbed Wanda around the waist, yanking her to his side. Before she could protest, he transported them as far away from the golems and as close to Hela as he could. As soon as they landed, he released Wanda and she stumbled away from him, looking rather green in the face.

 

“ _ Sfinte rahat _ ,” Wanda muttered, and promptly threw up.

 

Loki wrinkled his nose and edged away. In the last two years, the only person he had regularly transported was Darcy, who had become accustomed to it. In the last week he had had to transport several people for the first time, and he always found their reactions distasteful.

 

“What was that?” Wanda demanded, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

 

“I transported you,” Loki explained shortly, scanning their surroundings again.

 

“Transport?” Wanda echoed, looking around. “Do you mean teleport? Did you  _ teleport  _ us?”

 

“Yes, now be silent!” Loki hissed at her.

 

Overhead, Loki could see clouds gathering through the treetops, the sky going from clear to dark and stormy within seconds. A bolt of blue-white lightning leapt from the clouds to the ground not far from them, shaking the ground under their feet.

 

Loki smiled tightly, satisfied that Thor had things under control, and turned to walk towards the river. Wanda recovered enough to tail along behind him. The trees thinned out before they reached the shallow, sandy bank of the river.

 

Hela was waiting for them, alone. She stood facing them, arms wrapped around herself. Her hair was pulled back into a practical braid and she wore leather armor in black and gray with the world tree insignia on the breastplate. Her eyes found Loki’s immediately and held his gaze.

 

“Hela,” he greeted gently, coming a halt several paces away.

 

“Hello, Father,” Hela said in a weary voice. Behind him, Loki heard Wanda’s surprised intake of breath. “I see you’ve made it past my puppets.”

 

“Well, you weren’t trying very hard,” Loki replied. He looked around. “Where is Helblindi?”

 

Hela shrugged. Her whole demeanor appeared exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept for days and was nearing the end of her stamina. “I don’t know,” she said, and Loki believed her. “I was told to stall for time, so I have.”

 

“Hela, you do not have to follow Helblindi’s orders,” Loki told her.

 

Hela sighed deeply. “What other choice do I have?” she asked unhappily. “After the things I have done… There is no redemption for me now.”

 

Loki felt his heart break at the hopelessness in her words. “Hela, you are young, and you have made mistakes, but there is still hope for you. Skuld twisted you in her own image. You did not have any choice.”

 

A spark of fire kindled in Hela’s solid black eyes. “Skuld cared for me,” Hela said hotly. “She was the only one who did. Whatever else she may have done… she was my mother.”

 

Loki sighed and nodded. “Yes. Of course. I am sorry. But your birth mother, Angrboda, she is eager to see you. She worries for you, every day.”

 

Hela tilted her head, her expression softening. “Is she pretty?” she asked in a small voice, sounding incredibly young and vulnerable.”

 

“Yes, she is,” Loki assured her. “Beautiful and powerful and wise.”

 

Hela looked down at the ground for several seconds. Behind him, Loki heard Wanda shift her weight impatiently, but she said nothing, to Loki’s relief.

 

The young sorceress looked back up again, her dark brows drawn together. “Did you love her?” she asked. “My mother.”

 

Loki briefly weighed the benefits of lying and decided that the truth would be best, even if it was not what Hela wanted to hear. “I admired her, certainly,” he said. “Respected her. I was very fond of her. But no, I did not love her.”

 

Hela fell silent again and broke her gaze from Loki’s, looking over her shoulder at Wanda. “I am sorry,” she said after a few seconds. “For what we have done to your world. It isn’t right. I see that now.”

 

“I know what that feels like,” Wanda said kindly. “You should come with us. Let us help you.”

 

Hela smiled without humor. “I can’t. I am under geis.”

 

Loki grimaced and cursed under his breath.

 

“I don’t understand,” Wanda said. “What is geis?”

 

“It is a curse,” Loki told her in a low voice. “If she violates the conditions of the geis she will die.” He turned back to Hela. “Who placed the geis on you? What are the conditions?”

 

Hela shook her head. “I cannot speak of it. I am sorry, Father. I have no choice.”

 

Loki gritted his teeth. He was not going to lose his eldest child to a curse, no matter the source. He  _ would _ find a way to save her. He stepped towards her, showing her his empty hands. “Very well. Then do what you must.”

 

Hela frowned at him in surprise, then shook her head. “No, Father, please. Just leave. Leave this world. Go now while you still have--”

 

Her words caught in her throat and she gagged, reaching up to cover her mouth with her hand as she coughed. She lowered her hand and stared at it in horror. There was blood spattered on her palm.

 

“Hela, stop,” Loki said urgently. “Do not speak any more. Just fulfill the geis and be done with it.”

 

She shook her head again. “I won’t. Not now. I will not do it.” She choked and coughed, blood spraying from her lips as she grasped at her throat.

 

“What is happening to her?” Wanda demanded frantically, starting to move forward. Loki waved her back.

 

“The geis,” he explained tightly. “It will kill her if she refuses to fulfill it.”

 

“What can we do?” Wanda asked, staring at the girl.

 

“The only way to break a geis is to fulfill it, or kill the one who placed it on her,” Loki said grimly, and strode forward. Hela tried to back away but stopped when water slopped around her ankles. “Hela. Whatever it is, just do it. I will not see you harmed.”

 

Hela’s eyes were full of tears. “I do not want to. Please, Father. Do not make me.”

 

“Hela,” Loki told her gently. “I have fought too hard to lose you now.”

 

Helblindi appeared in a wisp of blue-white energy, landing behind Hela. Before Loki could react, Helblindi hooked their arm around Hela’s neck, jabbing the tip of a throwing dagger into the soft skin on the underside of her jaw. A trickle of dark blood ran over Helblindi’s fingers, freezing on contact.

 

“Hello  _ brother _ ,” Helblindi snarled at Loki. “How kind of you to join us. Hela certainly played her part well, didn’t she?”

 

“Let her go,” Loki said, low and dangerous. “Your quarrel is with me, not her.”

 

“My quarrel is with you, and her,  _ and _ the miserable sprog that  _ she _ let go,” Helblindi growled, pressing the dagger tip deeper into Hela’s jaw. The girl bared her teeth and grunted at the pain, but did not otherwise react, her hands hanging limp and passive at her side.

 

“You want revenge against me, Helblindi. Hela has done nothing to you,” Loki insisted.

 

“She carries your blood,” Helblindi spat. “For what you have done to my people, I will wipe every last trace of your bloodline from the galaxy.”

 

A cold fear settled in Loki’s chest. He could see the resolve in Helblindi’s eyes. There would be no words that could convince the  _ smárfolk _ to back down. Unless…

 

Loki snorted dismissively with bravado he certainly didn’t feel. “Please,” he said disdainfully. “I have already bested you once. What makes you think you can defeat me now?”

 

Helblindi bared their teeth at Loki in a knife-edged smile. “Leverage,” they replied

 

There was an explosion in the near distance, and the earth shook under their feet. Wanda muttered under her breath, and then said, louder, “Loki, we must finish this.”

 

He gave her a stern look and shook his head slightly. He turned back to Helblindi. “You know if you harm her you will not walk away from this alive.”

 

“You severely underestimate my powers,” Helblindi retorted.

 

“You are injured,” Loki pointed out. “You are in pain, and you are weak. You have no hope of overpowering me, and you already stated your intent for Hela, so you cannot bargain her safety for yours.”

 

“But would you bargain her safety for  _ yours _ ?” Helblindi returned.

 

Loki stiffened, brows drawing together as he glared at the diminutive Frost Giant. “In what way?” he growled.

 

“Come to me willingly, pay for the murder of my progenitor, and I will release the geis on your bastard,” Helblindi offered, stroking their free hand over Hela’s hair. Hela twitched, a muscle in her cheek tightening, but she still did not react, did not struggle.

 

Loki was silent for a long time, considering Helblindi’s words. Had he not told Darcy he would do nothing less? If it guaranteed Hela’s survival, what other choice did he have?

 

“Release Hela,” Loki said. “Surrender the Tesseract and the Scepter, and I will come to you willingly to pay your price.”

 

“Father, no,” Hela whispered, her eyes wide.

 

“That is a steep price for justice,” Helblindi said. “If I give up my weapons, what promise of safe passage do I have?”

 

“I will be your safe passage,” Loki replied, keeping his face expressionless. “My brother will not allow me to be harmed. Hela will use the Tesseract to return you to any realm you desire. You and I will pass through, alone, and then you may take your justice.”

 

“This is not a good idea,” Wanda hissed at him. “What are you thinking?”

 

There was another explosion, and the clouds overhead were black and ominous, flickering with lightning. Loki remained still, waiting and watching. Helblindi seemed to consider his offer, weighing their options. Finally they nodded.

 

“You will bind your word with magic and blood,” Helblindi said warningly.

 

Loki grimaced internally. If he made such an oath, there would be no wriggling his way out of this bargain. He would be bound as if under geis, forced to abide by the bargain or forfeit his life. “Very well,” he said reluctantly.

 

“This is crazy,” Wanda whispered loudly. “You can’t do this.”

 

He turned to look at her. “Hela is my daughter,” he told her softly. “I would do anything to ensure her safety. Surely you understand.”

 

“But what about your wife?” Wanda demanded. “And your son?”

 

Loki pressed his lips together. He knew, in the end, that Darcy had understood what lengths he may have to take to safe Hela. She would understand now. Perhaps it was better this way, that their bond was severed. This way she would not feel his death.

 

“There is no other way,” he said to Wanda. “I need your help. Will you help me?”

 

Wanda licked her lips uncomfortably. She looked from Helblindi back at Loki. “What do you need me to do?”

 

“Protect Hela. Once they release her, take her out of the way. And when they surrender the Infinity Stones, make sure no one but she touches them.”

 

“You trust her with them?” Wanda asked in a low voice.

 

“I do,” Loki murmured. “Can you do these things for me?”

 

She hesitated, and then nodded. “Yes. I can.”

 

Loki nodded back. “Thank you.” Then he straightened and turned towards Helblindi. “Release Hela,” he ordered.

 

Helblindi removed the dagger from Hela’s throat and loosened their arm from her neck, but kept one hand on her shoulder. “Walk towards me,” they called. “Keep your hands visible.”

 

Loki walked slowly forward, hands raised and empty. As he approached, Helblindi removed their hand from Hela’s shoulder and shoved her forward. She began walking towards Loki until they were face-to-face.

 

“Father, don’t do this,” she pleaded. “I am not worth this.”

 

“You are worth everything to me,” he told her kindly. “You are my daughter, little one. That is enough.”

 

Hela reached up to scrub moisture from her black eyes. “I will not disappoint you,” she said. “I will find my mother. I will. And I will take care of my brother. I will not let anyone hurt him, ever again.”

 

“Thank you,” Loki told her. He put his hand on her shoulder, keeping his touch light. “Will you take a message for me, to your step-mother?” She nodded, staring up at him with wide eyes. Loki smiled at her. “Tell her it was worth it. All of it.”

 

“I will,” Hela whispered. She lunged forward suddenly, wrapping her arms around Loki’s waist. “Goodbye, Father.” Loki didn’t hesitate to embrace her back.

 

“Farewell, Hela,” he replied softly.

 

“Enough!” Helblindi yelled impatiently. “Loki! You will come to me now!”

 

Hela withdrew with great reluctance and stepped around Loki to make her way towards Wanda. Loki continued forward, his mind racing with calculations. How far was it to the trees again? How much time would he have? A hundredth of a second, perhaps. No more.

 

He came to a halt an arm’s length from Helblindi. “Surrender the Stones,” Loki said. “And I will take your oath.”

 

Helblindi still had burns visible on their face and exposed skin, their armor charred black in places. They stood of a height with Loki, the same build, the same features. They could have passed for twins.

 

The Frost Giant grinned wolfishly at him. “Brother, you are far too trusting.”

 

Three things happened all at once.

 

First, Helblindi lunged toward Loki, dagger reflecting the sullen lighting from the skies overhead.

 

Second, Loki twitched his head to the side.

 

Third, a gunshot rang out from the tree line behind Loki.

 

Helblindi’s dagger found a gap in Loki’s armor, sliding between metal plates to pierce leather and skin and muscle. Before the pain registered, Loki felt a bullet pass by his head so close that its wake tugged at his hair. Helblindi’s head snapped back and they stumbled away from Loki, a stunned expression on their face. There was a perfect hole in the center of their forehead, a single drop of black blood trickling down between their brows.

 

“How?” Helblindi whispered. Then, with a deep sigh, the strength left their body and they collapsed into the shallows.

 

Loki remained where he stood, jaw clenched and muscles tensed. He looked down at the hilt of the knife protruding from his ribs. The pain slammed into him all at once, stealing his breath away, and he sank to his knees.

 

“ _ Father _ !” he heard Hela scream from behind him. He struggled for a moment to remain upright and lost, tipping over onto his back on the bank of the river. The sky overhead was still black with storm clouds, lightning flashing back and forth. There had always been beauty in the storm. He was envious of Thor, that he could summon such magnificence. 

 

He watched the lightning until the darkness claimed him and he knew no more.


	23. 'Cause I Love How It Feels When I Break The Chains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I am back from England. As it turns out I did not get a chance to update while I was there. We had a very busy schedule and I had my dear friend Bea and one of our mutual friends there as well, plus my younger brother (remember him? The inspiration for Cooper?)
> 
> Anyway, we have come to the conclusion of this story arc, and we will begin the next and last one for this story. Once The Impossible Year is finished, we will have one last book in the series, but I will be continuing working on The Golden Days and other occasional one shots. But don't be worrying about that. That is a long time away and we are nowhere near done yet!

The Avengers of this universe had a containment cell that dampened Hela’s abilities. She assumed it had been originally intended for the mortal witch, Wanda, in the event her powers grew out of control. As far as cells went, it wasn’t uncomfortable. There was a bed, hygiene facilities, and a false window that displayed the well-kept grounds of the base.

Hela’s armor had been confiscated, leaving her in the gray sleeveless undershirt and black leggings she wore underneath. She had been allowed to keep her jewelry, the talismans that hung from her braids and chains around her neck. Clearly none of the Avengers recognized them for what they were. Loki would have, but the others did not have the correct knowledge of magicks.

Not that Hela intended to use any of the talismans. She had accepted her confinement quietly, consenting to whatever punishment her actions had incurred. She would pay for her crimes, just as Helblindi had paid for theirs.

No one had been to see her since she’d been put in the cell. It had been several hours since they’d returned from the battlefield, since Loki had been whisked away from her to the healing rooms. He had not regained consciousness during the short flight back to the base, despite the attempts of the Avengers themselves.

Hela did not know if he lived or not. 

If he died, he would have died protecting her. She was not sure if she could live with that burden. All of this was her own doing.  _ She _ had sought Helblindi out.  _ She  _ had found the spell to harness the Tesseract.  _ She _ had made the plans to steal the Stones. And yet, after all of that, after twice attempting to kill him, Loki still sacrificed himself for her.

Not even Skuld would have done that for her. 

She certainly did not deserve it. Yet he had done it willingly, without hesitation. It would take a lifetime to repay such a debt.

Hela startled when the door to the observation room opened, and Thor stepped through. Her uncle. It would be some time before she would be able to make peace with that. She rose to her feet from her seat on the bed and padded over to the observation window. 

“Your highness,” she greeted in a flat, emotionless voice.

Thor said nothing, staring at her for a long moment. Hela raised her chin and met his gaze evenly. “Might I ask after Loki?” she said after several silent seconds.

“He is still in surgery,” Thor said in an equally flat, toneless voice.

Hela blinked and swallowed. So he yet lived. “Thank you for telling me,” she said softly.

“I did not come here to comfort you,” Thor said sternly.

Hela pressed her lips together. She would not allow herself to be irritated by the way he spoke to her. She did not deserve anything less. Loki may have forgiven her, but she had committed crimes against the crown prince, as well. Had she not poisoned his lover? It was a wonder he could even bear to be in her presence.

“Why did you come, your highness?” Hela asked, and if she could not bring herself to be deferential, at least she was not completely disrespectful.

“Loki lost a great deal of blood,” Thor continued, frowning down the great height difference between them. Hela briefly wondered if her birth mother was tall, and if there was any chance of her growing past her current height. She blinked and brought herself back to the present.

“And what do you need from me?” She asked.

“You are his offspring,” Thor replied tightly. “Your blood will be compatible with his.”

“I am a mixed breed,” Hela reminded him swiftly. “We are not the same race.”

“Niflungar and Jotnar are compatible enough to produce viable offspring,” Thor pointed out. “He will die without the blood, so it can do him no more harm.”

Hela sucked in a breath and stepped back. “I… see,” she said slowly. “If it will give him a chance for survival, I will give it. As much as is needed.”

Thor studied her for a moment, then nodded, turning to leave.

“Prince Thor,” Hela called after him, and he stopped, looking back at her. “I am sorry,” she said softly. “For… For what I did… to your lover.”

He looked surprised, and then frowned. “I hear your words,” he said, and swept through the door.

Hela heaved a deep sigh. She had not expected him to forgive her, much less accept her apology. She was acutely aware that only Loki’s wishes kept her alive. Should he die, her chances of survival would severely dwindle.

She paced around the room a few times, the floor pleasantly cool against her bare feet. She fingered the talismans hanging from her neck, checking the magick stored within and mentally reciting their purposes. One helped with her veils, one was a ward against poison. One maintained the mask she wore that hid her true heritage. Three of them were for summoning golems. None were for healing. She should remedy that, if she ever had the chance.

The door to the cell slid open, and the artificial man stepped through, followed by a healer dressed in white. “Hello, Hela,” the artificial man said. “We are here to draw your blood. Please have a seat.”

Hela sat obediently on the edge of the bed. The healer approached her fearlessly with a black case that he set on the bed next to her. “Under normal circumstances, we would only draw one pint from someone of your weight,” he told her, holding his hand out expectantly. “But I am told I can take a few more from you without causing you too much damage.”

“Yes,” Hela replied, extending her arm. “I can lose up to a third of my blood before losing consciousness.”

The healer frowned. “I’m a little concerned about how you came to know that.”

Hela snorted. “Experience,” she said grimly.

“You are far too young to have needed that experience,” said the artificial man.

As the healer swabbed antiseptic onto the crook of her arm, Hela stared unblinkingly up at the artificial man. “My foster mother was a very thorough teacher,” she explained shortly, but offered nothing more.

The artificial man looked faintly concerned, but didn’t press the issue. 

The first needle the healer attempted bent and broke against her skin. “Shoot, sorry, wrong one,” he muttered, picking up the pieces from the floor and tucking them into the case. “That one wasn’t the one for Asgardian skin.”

“I am not Asgardian,” Hela told the healer. He blinked at her a couple of times.

“Right, sorry,” he said again. His second attempt was able to pierce her skin, and the healer, with the aid of the artificial man, collected four bags of purple-red blood.

“We will send someone in with some fluids and snacks,” the healer told her. “In the meantime, just rest and try not to walk around too much. You might be slightly lightheaded.”

Hela resisted the urge to snap that she knew the effects of blood loss, and settled for a stiff nod. When the healer and the artificial man turned to leave, though, she broke her silence. “Will you tell me?” she asked softly. “If he lives?”

The artificial man looked back at her with surprising gentleness in his golden eyes. “Of course,” he assured her. “You will be informed either way. He is, after all, your father.”

Hela nodded her thanks and watched them leave before drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. Yes. He was her father. She had a father. And a mother. And an infant brother. She had a  _ family _ . Something she had not had even when her foster mother had been alive.

But in her blind anger she had ruined everything. Her father was barely clinging to life, her mother would no doubt despise her for her actions, and there was little chance she would ever be allowed near her brother again.

Hela pressed her face against her knees and for a moment she wished that Loki had not saved her, that she had perished in battle. But that thought passed quickly. If she were to die, she had no desire for it to be at the hands of someone like Helblindi. The norns still had to pass judgement, Hela thought morosely. Perhaps the new Mother of the Ways would condemn her to death and put her out of her misery.

But that was not what Loki would want, she told herself. She owed him a debt, now. She must repay him, and for that she must live. She had little else to live for.

Finally tired of her dark thoughts, Hela rubbed the charm braided in her hair that helped her to sleep, speaking the spell word under her breath so as not to attract attention. She stretched out on the bed as weariness clouded her senses, and let sleep consume her.

XxxXxxX

The room was dark when he opened his eyes. It hurt to breathe, and there was a stabbing pain in his ribs, but it was not unmanageable. He had been given painkillers but was not so addled that he could not focus on relieving the pain. Once that was taken care of, he realized he was not alone.

Barnes sat in a chair in the corner opposite the door, arms folded across his chest. Steel-gray eyes were already fixed on the patient, who stared silently back for several long moments.

“You were late,” Loki said in a hoarse voice.

Barnes narrowed his eyes. “Three inch target at a thousand yards and you’re complaining about timing.”

“Well, I  _ was _ stabbed,” Loki pointed out.

“You’re just lucky your harebrained plan actually worked,” Barnes told him, uncrossing his arms and leaning forward. “How did you know that’s what Helblindi was going to do?”

“Because that was what  _ I _ would have done,” Loki explained, pushing himself into a more upright position and hissing in pain. “Helblindi was, after all, my blood-sibling.”

“They were nothing like you,” Barnes insisted, reaching over to push a button on the railing of the hospital bed. The top half of the bed rose a few inches to allow Loki the position he desired.

Loki grimaced but didn’t argue the point. “How is Hela?” he asked.

“She’s not hurt,” Barnes reported. “Not talking to anyone, though. She saved your life.”

Loki frowned. “Did she?” he asked, confused.

“You lost a lot of blood,” Barnes told him. “She gave you four pints.”

Loki blinked a few times. “I see.” He saw the plastic water jug on the table just out of reach and gestured toward it. “If you would be so kind?”

Barnes got to his feet and walked over to pour him a glass. Loki took it gratefully but refrained from gulping it down. “How long was I unconscious?” he asked.

“Thirty-one hours,” Barnes replied. “Eight for surgery, and they kept you under for another twelve.”

Loki frowned. “Has word been sent to Darcy?”

Barnes shook his head. “Thor refused to leave your side until he passed out from exhaustion. I told him I’d keep an eye on you for him, and Rogers won’t leave without me.”

Loki sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. “Where is Thor now?” he asked.

“Still asleep,” Barnes said. “He was really out of it.”

“With the strength of the storm he summoned I don’t doubt it,” Loki muttered, grimacing and pressing a hand to his side. He summoned his medical box and opened the lid, poking through the bottles until he found what he wanted. He was going to have to refill his supply of painkillers soon. He guessed that Odin would summon them to Asgard as soon as he returned to the Well, so he would speak to Eir about it then.

“Should you be taking those?” Barnes asked, eying the pills in Loki’s hand.

“Well, I won’t be using that anymore, so it should be fine,” Loki replied, nodding toward the pain pump, and swallowed the tablets dry.

“How’re you feeling?” Barnes asked, studying Loki’s face with a closeness that made Loki rather uncomfortable. 

“I will be fine in a few days,” Loki assured him.

Barnes stared at him for another few moments before reaching over again and pressing the button to summon a nurse. “Uh-huh,” was all he said.

Loki scowled back until a question occurred to him. “The Infinity Stones. Were they recovered?”

Barnes nodded. “Yeah. The Tesseract was in a bus near the combat zone, and the Scepter was by Helblindi’s body when I got there. Maximoff said it appeared there right after you went down.”

Loki nodded. “Yes. Helblindi must have had it stored in their pocket dimension. The Stones are too powerful to be lost to the ether.”

A nurse appeared a few moments later, accompanied by Loki’s Rogers. Rogers walked over to Barnes, gripped his shoulder for a moment, and then turned to Loki. “Hey,” he said with a tired grin. “Good to see you awake. We were worried for a bit there.”

“I assure you, this is hardly the worst injury I have ever sustained,” Loki told him dryly.

“Thor said you were stabbed through the chest a few years ago,” Barnes added.

“Yes,” Loki murmured, rubbing his chest where the scar, though pale and faded, still marred his skin.

“You need better armor,” Rogers told him.

“I will begin designing a new suit as soon as we return to our universe,” Loki promised.

The nurse, Kenesha again, shooed Rogers out of the way so she could examine the machines Loki was hooked up to. “You seem to land yourself in medical a lot,” she commented. “That normal for you?”

“Yes, unfortunately,” Loki said testily. “You can remove the IV.”

“That’s going to be up to the doctor,” Kenesha admonished.

“I have healed on my own sufficiently,” Loki insisted.

“We’ll see about that,” Kenesha said doubtfully. She kicked everyone out of the room in anticipation of the doctor’s arrival and assisted Loki in removing his shirt. She also unwrapped the bandages on his left arm, clucking her tongue at the sight of the new, waxy skin already growing in pink patches were the injuries had been.

The doctor arrived a few moments later, a harried-looking man with a shock of white hair and a stoop to his shoulders. When he removed the bandage over the stab wound, he frowned. “These stitches should have come out hours ago, at this rate of healing,” he said irately. “Any longer and they’ll be permanent. We should have used the dissolvable ones.”

Loki said nothing as the stitches were removed, and only once he had been re-bandaged and allowed to pull his shirt back over his head did he directly address the doctor. “I would like to see my daughter, now,” he said politely, but firmly.

“Given your rate of healing, I’ll allow it, but you’ll have to use a wheelchair. Your right lung and your liver had to be stitched back together and I don’t want you ruining all my hard work.”

“Fine, whatever you insist,” Loki agreed impatiently.

Once the doctor and Kenesha left, Barnes and Rogers returned, Barnes pushing a wheelchair. Loki discovered, much to his embarrassment, that he needed Rogers’ assistance in getting out of the hospital bed and into the wheelchair. Thankfully, neither human commented on the faint heat burning on Loki’s face as they escorted him to the holding cell where Hela waited.

The adolescent sorceress was sitting on the edge of the cell’s bed, arms wrapped around her legs as she stared out the false window. When the observation door opened, she looked around disinterestedly, but her expression sharpened at the sight of Loki.

“Father!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She hurried over to the observation window and pressed her hands to the glass. “Are you well?”

“I am fine,” he assured her. “Are you?”

Her expression shuttered closed again. “I am… comfortable,” she said in a neutral voice, glancing quickly at Rogers and Barnes. Loki noticed that, while her armor had been removed, she had been allowed to keep all her talismans. Clearly no one, not even Thor, had recognized them for what they were. Loki made the decision not to enlighten them.

“Captain, I would like to speak to Hela in private, if you don’t mind,” Loki said.

“Sure,” Rogers said, and pressed a button on the wall to turn off the security cameras. “You need anything, just yell.”

“I will be perfectly fine,” Loki said with a sniff.

Barnes gave him a flat look before he and Rogers turned to leave. As soon as the observation room door closed, Loki rose to his feet, reaching out with one hand to steady himself against the wall. “Are you truly well?” he asked Hela in the First Tongue, not entirely convinced they were not being watched.

“This cell suppresses my powers,” Hela said with faint irritation. “Other than that, I am not injured.”

“I was told you saved my life,” Loki said.

Hela shrugged. “It was the least I could do to repay you.”

“You owe me nothing, Hela,” Loki told her gently.

She frowned. “Do I not? You released me from my geis. You saved my life. And after I had twice attempted to kill you, and kidnapped your son.”

“You did not take Elden,” Loki reminded her. “Helblindi did. You cared for him. He was in perfect health.”

Hela opened her mouth the speak, paused, and started again. “He is my brother,” she finally muttered. “He had done no wrong against me. I had no desire to do him harm.”

Her words warmed Loki’s heart, and he smiled at her. Hela’s pale cheeks colored slightly, and she had to duck her head to hide a smile of her own. “He is safe?” she asked him.

“Yes. He has already returned home with his mother,” Loki assured her.

Hela nodded. “I am glad.”

Loki hesitated. “Hela,” he said, and took a deep breath. “You must know, your fate will be decided by the norns, not by Asgard.”

Hela nodded, her expression now grim. “I know,” she said. “I will accept whatever punishment they mete out.”

“I will plead your case before them,” Loki said.

“Don’t,” Hela said softly. “I and I alone am responsible for my actions, Father. I was not held in thrall, nor was I given orders by the Eldest. I made my own choices.”

“You were mistaken,” Loki insisted. “You sought revenge for the murder of your foster mother. Any one of us would have done the same.”

“But I harmed the innocent in my pursuit of vengeance,” Hela said fiercely. “If nothing else, I must pay for the murder of my uncle’s lover.”

Loki blinked. “Hela,” he said slowly. “Jane Foster did not die. She survived the poison.”

Hela’s eyes widened. “What?” she gasped. “No! That is not possible! There is no antidote for the Black Mercy.”

“Perhaps not, but Darcy found a way to save Jane,” Loki replied. “She is, after all, Mother of the Ways.”

Hela froze, her pale face growing even more bloodless. “She… is?” she asked in a quavering voice. “Sigyn is the Mother of the Ways?”

“Yes,” Loki confirmed, eying Hela closely.

Hela stepped back from the observation window, no longer able to meet Loki’s gaze. She muttered something under her breath that Loki did not catch. “Sigyn is the Mother of the Ways,” she said again. “And I… I took her son.” She passed her hand over her face, then turned back to Loki, her expression once more grim.

“You will not plead for mercy on my behalf,” she told him firmly. “You will not interfere with the norn’s judgement. Whatever sentence they pass, you will abide by it.”

Loki frowned. “I will not stand by--”

“Promise me,” Hela insisted. “Give me your word, Father.”

“Why?” Loki demanded.

“Because if the Mother of the Ways is not satisfied with my punishment, if by some miracle I am allowed to live, I will not be allowed to ever see my brother again,” Hela said quietly. She wrapped her arms around her frail-looking body. “I want…” she trailed off. “I would like to see him again.”

Loki licked his lips. “I give you my word you will see your brother again,” he told her.

She considered that for a moment, and then nodded.

The door to the observation room opened and Barnes stuck his head through. “Nurse says you need to get back to your room,” he told Loki. “They want to push another bag of antibiotics before they release you.”

Loki scowled but did not argue. He turned to Hela. “I will see you soon,” he promised her in English. She nodded back and drifted away from the window, returning to the bed. Loki allowed himself to be returned to the medical room, where he found Thor waiting, looking bleary-eyed and somewhat rumpled.

When Loki again needed assistance in getting back into the hospital bed, Thor easily maneuvered Loki into place. “You seem to enjoy being stabbed, brother,” he said with a smirk.

“Oh, yes, it’s quite enjoyable,” Loki bit back. “You should try it. I could oblige you now.”

“I think Mother has quite enough to deal with having one pincushion in the family,” Thor replied. He patted Loki’s uninjured shoulder. “Really, though. You haven’t been injured this often since we were children.”

Loki flinched under Thor’s hand and he withdrew it, frowning at Loki’s reaction. “I am sorry, Loki, did I--”

“Skuld kept me in good health,” Loki snapped, and then inhaled deeply through his nose. “I would have been no use to her otherwise,” he said in a gentler tone.

Thor looked abashed. “Loki, I am sorry. I did not think--”

Loki sighed. “It’s fine, Thor. Please don’t trouble yourself.”

Thor nodded, still sheepish, and dragged a chair over so he could sit next to the bed. “It is good to see you are healing,” he said sincerely. “Barnes told us of your scheme with him. Why did you say nothing to me?”

“Because if I had, you would not have agreed to your part,” Loki told him. “It was inevitable that I would be injured. I knew if I had told you this, you would not have left my side. And Helblindi would not have come to bargain had you been with me.”

Thor scowled. “Could you not have formed a plan that did not involve you being injured?” he asked grumpily. 

“Knowing the depths of Helblindi’s hatred, not likely,” Loki replied, wincing and shifting to a more comfortable position. 

Thor continued to scowl and rubbed his bearded jaw. “How was Barnes’ weapon able to kill Helblindi? I did not think that the Jotnar were susceptible to firearms.”

“They are not, and certainly not at that distance,” Loki said, more tired than he cared to admit. “But I developed bullets capable of piercing Jotnar skin and bone.”

Thor looked at him in surprise. “Why would you have need of such a thing?” he demanded.

“ _ I _ would not,” Loki snapped, irritation growing as his pain medication wore off. “But Tyr attacked me and kidnapped Darcy while on Midgard. I thought it would someday be useful if the Avengers were to have weapons capable of killing our kind.”

Thor was clearly not happy, but he said nothing, leaning back in his chair. Loki shifted again before giving up and summoning his medical box and digging out two more pain pills.

“Forgive me brother,” Loki said with another sigh. “But I am in pain and I would rather just sleep for the moment.”

Thor nodded. “Of course.” He rose to his feet. “Rest well, brother.”

Loki nodded back and waited until Thor had left the room before leaning back against the pillows and closing his eyes.

XxxXxxX

Darcy knew that, from the time she felt the Way activate to the travellers actually arriving, she had four minutes to get to the solarium if she wanted to be there when they arrived. It was about a half hour from dawn and she and Ingrit were the only ones awake, both of them trying and failing to concentrate on a Vanir board game to keep their minds off of the matters at hand.

Darcy jumped to her feet and knocked over the table in the process. “They’re back!” she threw over her shoulder on her way to the door. Ingrit knocked over her own chair when she went to follow.

Darcy skidded into the solarium just in time to see Steve stumble through, almost losing his balance. Bucky was so close behind him that Steve didn’t have enough time to get out of the way and they both topple over with identical curses.

Darcy hurried over. “Are you guys okay?” she asked breathlessly. 

Steve shoved Bucky off him roughly, his face pink. “Yeah,” he said, sounding equally out of breath.

“You’re not any lighter on your feet than you used to be,” Bucky accused, rubbing the side of his head where it had connected with Steve’s elbow.

“ _ You _ ran into  _ me _ ,” Steve muttered back. “And you’re supposed to be the graceful one.”

“Not my fault you can’t tell your elbows from your ankles,” Bucky shot back, getting to his feet and offering Steve a hand. Steve took it and let Bucky pull him upright. “At least you're big enough now that no one is going trample you underfoot.”

“Ha,” Steve said, supremely unamused.

Thor and Loki appeared through the Way, both of them managing to stay upright. That may have been due to the fact that Loki had one arm slung over Thor’s shoulders, and was leaning heavily on his brother.

The bond between them snapped back in place with an intensity that made tears spring to Darcy’s eyes, and it felt as if a part of her brain that she had been missing was suddenly there again. Without thinking, she flung herself at Loki, nearly knocking him away from Thor.

It was only his pained gasp that made her remember herself, and she sprung back again, letting him regain his feet. “What happened?” she demanded.

“It’s nothing,” Loki said.

“He was stabbed,” Thor said at the same time.

“ _ What _ ?” Darcy demanded. “How? By who?”

Loki disengaged from Thor and closed the distance between them. “I will tell you everything,  _ elskede _ , I promise,” he said, sounding exasperated. He took her face in both hands and leaned their foreheads together. “I missed you,” he told her softly, only loud enough for her to hear.

“I missed you, too,” Darcy breathed.

Loki kissed her, disappointingly brief, and then straightened. “How is Elden? The girls?”

“They’re fine, everyone’s fine,” Darcy said quickly. She felt Jane wake up in the back of her head, her presence going from indistinct dreams to bleary alertness. Darcy spared a moment to shove her excitement and relief at Jane before carefully walling her connection with Jane away from her connection with Loki. It wasn’t quite perfect, but it was better than nothing.

The Way activated a third time, and it was Hela who stepped through, wearing a gray sleeveless tunic and heavy silver cuffs on both wrists. Darcy pulled away from Loki on instinct, putting distance between her and the Niflungar teenager.

She stared at the young sorceress with narrowed eyes for a moment. Hela did not meet her gaze. Her black eyes were fixed on the ground in front of her. Darcy recognized the cuffs as magic binders, but was surprised she wasn’t further restrained.

Darcy looked back up at Loki. “Where is Helblindi?” she asked.

Loki shook his head slightly. “Dead,” he said in a flat voice.

Darcy pressed her lips together.  _ Good _ , said a vicious voice in the back of her head, which she squashed immediately. She would not take pleasure in death, no matter how deserving the person. She turned to Hela again.

“Are you injured?” she asked in a neutral voice. 

The teenager looked up, surprised to be addressed. “No,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Darcy nodded and turned to Ingrit. “Could you take her somewhere safe, please?”

“Of course,” Ingrit said. She walked over and took Hela’s arm. “Come with me, child,” she said, not unkindly. Hela glanced quickly at Loki before allowing herself to be led away.

Darcy watched them leave and looked back at Loki in time to see him wince in pain, one hand pressing against his right side. “I’ll call a dis to check you out,” Darcy said, reaching over to take Loki’s other hand so she could tug him over to a chair.

“I am fine,” Loki assured her. “I was seen by a nurse but a few minutes ago.”

Before Darcy could press the issue, Jane burst into the solarium, still in her pajamas. “Thor!” Thor met her halfway, sweeping her off her feet in his enthusiasm. Darcy watched their reunion with a smile and caught sight of Bucky and Steve trying to sneak off out of the corner of her eye.

“I don’t think so,” she said, pinning them in place with a glare. She pointed to the other chairs. “Sit. Tell me exactly what happened. And don’t you dare leave anything out.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Barnes blurted as he gingerly took the seat next to Loki.

Darcy narrowed her eyes. “What wasn’t your fault?”

“Him getting stabbed,” Barnes muttered, not meeting Darcy’s eye. His head twitched to the side in the manner it did when he was upset or nervous.

“Nobody said it was your fault,” Darcy said slowly. She looked between the three men, who were all now looking guilty. “Okay. Spill.”

It didn’t take them long to tell her what had happened since she left the other universe, speaking in turns and shifting uncomfortably under her forbidding gaze. She didn’t say anything until they were finished. She crossed her arms.

“Three inch target?” she asked Bucky. “A thousand yards?”

He nodded silently. 

Darcy whistled. “Damn. That’s not bad.”

Bucky abruptly relaxed and even smiled a little at her compliment. Darcy rounded on Loki, though, jabbing her finger toward him.

“You could have come up with a better plan,” she accused.

He gave her an exasperated look. “We all lived. Is that not what matters?”

“Yeah, but this is, like, the third time you’ve been stabbed just since I’ve known you and frankly I’m kinda tired of it,” Darcy complained with a hint of a whine to her voice.

Loki reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her gently but inexorably toward him until she had no choice but to seat herself on his lap. “I am  _ fine _ , Darcy.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t,” Steve said. “You were in surgery for eight hours and you needed four pints of blood.”

“What?” Darcy asked flatly while Loki sent Steve a loathing look.

Bucky jumped to his feet. “Any idea where the kitchen is?” he asked, reaching down to grab a handful of Steve’s uniform and drag him upright, as well.

“Third right, end of the hall, turn left,” Darcy said, pointing at the appropriate door. She noticed that Thor and Jane had made their exit while she’d been distracted. Once they were alone, she glared at Loki. “Eight hours of surgery doesn’t sound like  _ fine _ ,” she accused.

“Am I not here before you now?” Loki asked, taking both of her hands in his. “I admit, I will be designing a better suit of armor.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Darcy muttered, leaning down to press her face against the side of his neck. He looped his arms around her and for a long moment they sat there, taking comfort in each other’s presence.

“It’s over, Darcy,” he murmured at length. “Everyone is safe.”

“Yeah,” Darcy said. They fell silent again, and then it was Darcy’s turn to break it. “We need to find a better place to keep the Stones.”

“Yes, we do,” Loki agreed.

Darcy snuggled closer to Loki, of no mind to get up. “We can deal with that later,” she decided.

“Mmm,” Loki replied, and held her tighter.


	24. Kids Were Laughing In My Classes While I Was Scheming For The Masses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely people. You may have noticed that I have a pseud now and that I have posted two more stories, which brings my WIPs up to five. Yeah. So... What can I say? I like working on multiple projects at once. Both of the new ones are plot bunnies I've had nibbling at my attention for a while now, and since they won't go away the only thing I can do is write them, and if I write them I like to get feedback.
> 
> Anyway. Please be patient with my scatterbrained ass and I will endeavor to keep updating all my stories on a regular basis.

Loki trailed his fingers lightly down Darcy’s spine and she shivered involuntarily, turning her head so she could see him, propped up on one elbow beside her. “Stop it,” she demanded with a hint of whine to her voice. “You know I’m ticklish.”

 

“Yes, I do,” Loki replied smugly, his fingers not ceasing their travels up and down her back. Darcy wriggled slightly in protest but soon gave up. She was too tired to really care much.

 

She wasn’t sure if it was late or early. They had arrived on Asgard yesterday around noon, and had spent most of the day telling and retelling the story of Elden’s rescue, and then Darcy had spent the rest of it arguing with Odin about Hela. She maintained, unequivocally, that Hela’s fate was in the hands of the norns, who had all come to Asagarth with them. Odin had not liked that, but even the Allfather knew he couldn’t defy all the norns at the same time.

 

Loki had refused to allow Hela to be sent to the dungeons, so she was currently safe and comfortable in warded chambers, the magic-blocking cuffs still fastened to her wrists. No one was to speak with her, not even the guards, under Darcy’s orders. Even Frigga, who of course had wanted to meet her eldest grandchild, was forbidden.

 

The Scepter and the Tesseract were safely housed in Odin’s treasure room, guarded by the Destroyer. Darcy still wasn’t sure if she would let them remain there, given that the Aether was there, too. It did not seem to be a good idea to have more than one Infinity Stone in one place. Especially with Thanos still on the loose. 

 

But all of that could wait until the morning. 

 

A thought suddenly occurred to Darcy and she rolled onto her side, propping herself up into a sitting position. She put her hand against Loki’s chest and pushed him backwards, then leaned down to inspect the scar in between his ribs.

 

It had faded almost to nothing, a silvery line barely visible against Loki’s pale skin. The burns on his left shoulder and forearm were similarly healed. Nothing more than smooth, hairless patches of skin.

 

“Damn,” Darcy said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over how much more advanced Asgardian medical science is than Earth’s.”

 

Loki snorted. “There’s hardly a comparison,  _ elskede _ . Humans are still in the process of discovering fire, much less basic medical care.”

 

“You are such a  _ snob _ ,” Darcy accused without any heat, but poked him hard in the stomach, which had no effect whatsoever. She did not feel like arguing, either, so she settled back down against his side.

 

“Darcy,” Loki murmured before she could fall asleep.

 

“Hmm?” Darcy hummed.

 

“What are the norns’ plans for Hela?”

 

Darcy sighed and pressed her face against his shoulder. “I don’t know,” she mumbled.

 

She could almost hear his frown. “You are the one she acted against,” Loki reminded her. “Ultimately her fate is up to you.”

 

“Yeah, but I don’t know what needs to be done, yet,” Darcy told him, slightly annoyed that he would bring this up  _ now _ of all times.

 

“Yet?” Loki echoed.

 

“I haven’t talked to her yet,” Darcy explained with another sigh. “I’m not making any decision until I’ve talked to her.”

 

Loki was silent for a long time. “I know she is nothing to you, but please…  _ elskede _ . She is my daughter.”

 

Darcy opened her eyes and tilted her head so she could see his face. “You really care about her, don’t you?” she asked quietly.

 

“Yes,” he replied simply.

 

“And it’s not just out of guilt?” Darcy pressed.

 

Loki grimaced. “Not  _ only _ ,” he admitted.

 

Darcy dropped her head. “Look, whatever judgement is passed, it’s not happening until Angrboda gets here.”

 

“Of course,” Loki agreed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her tight against his side. “Whatever your decision, it will not affect our relationship. Nothing will ever change that.”

 

Darcy hummed wordlessly. “I love you, too,  _ angan _ .”

 

She felt him twist the ends of her hair through his fingers, a habit he’d formed early on in their relationship. But if he replied, she didn’t hear it, as she was already asleep.

 

XxxXxxX

 

“Are you sure you want me here?” Jane asked nervously.

 

Darcy gave her a slightly exasperated look. “Do you even have to ask that?”

 

“No,” Jane admitted. “But I was hoping asking would change your mind.”

 

“Jane, she can’t hurt you,” Darcy assured her.

 

“Doesn’t change the fact she tried to kill me,” Jane muttered.

 

“She tried to kill me, too,” Darcy pointed out.

 

“Yeah, but you killed her foster mother,” Jane reminded her. “I was an innocent bystander.”

 

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Look, it’s better if we just get this over with.”

 

Jane came dangerously close to pouting for a woman with three doctorate degrees. “Fine, but if she even looks at me wrong I’m out of there.”

 

“Whatever,” Darcy muttered under her breath. She gestured to the guard, who had been dutifully pretending as if he wasn’t there, and he leapt into action, pulling the lever to unlock the door. Darcy took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and strode through the door, Jane two steps behind her.

 

Hela jumped up from where she sat on the windowsill. The window was covered with an impenetrable force field, keeping her from escaping. She had changed her clothing into what had been provided for her, a heavily-embroidered overdress that was split up the front to the waist and a skin-tight black bodysuit. She had pushed her sleeves up over the cuffs, keeping them visible at all times.

 

“Lady Sigyn,” Hela greeted in a toneless voice, dropping a shallow curtsy. Her black eyes flicked over Darcy’s shoulder. “Lady Jane Foster,” she added, sounding surprised.

 

“Hello, Hela,” Darcy greeted politely. “Are you comfortable?”

 

“Yes,” the teenager replied shortly, and then clasped her hands together in front of her. “Thank you for asking,” she continued in a much more amiable voice.

 

“I have a few questions for you,” Darcy told her. “Is it alright if Jane sits in with us?”

 

Hela’s face was expressionless. “The Mother may do as she thinks is best.”

 

Darcy pressed her lips together. “I am asking if you are comfortable with Jane being here,” she said firmly. “I would appreciate an honest answer.”

 

Hela blinked and stared at Darcy for a long moment. “Yes,” she finally said. “I am agreeable with it, if she is.”

 

Darcy turned to look at Jane, who was visibly disappointed. “Sit,” she ordered, pointing to one of the chairs by the window. Jane sat. Darcy took the other chair and gestured for Hela to sit as well. Hela perched on the edge of the windowsill, the very image of a nervous songbird who might burst into flight at a moment’s notice.

 

Darcy took a deep breath. This conversation was going to be vitally important to Hela’s future. Hela was obviously acutely aware of that, as well. Darcy thought carefully about the questions she was about to ask. She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees.

 

“Why did you try to kill Loki?” she asked bluntly.

 

Hela gave her a scathing look before remembering herself and smoothing her expression. “Because I believed he betrayed and murdered Skuld.”

 

“And me?” Darcy pressed.

 

Hela shrugged a shoulder. “You were in the way.”

 

“Why didn’t you go to the other norns for justice?” Darcy asked.

 

“Because they clearly had no intention of seeking any,” Hela said contemptuously, and did not try to hide it. “They made no effort to seek justice for Skuld’s death, so I was forced to seek my own.”

 

“Did you know that Skuld was trying to start Ragnarok?” Darcy asked.

 

“Yes,” Hela replied shortly.

 

Darcy leaned back in her chair. “Did that matter to you at all?”

 

“Who was I to question the Eldest?” Hela retorted.

 

Jane cleared her throat and crossed her arms. She clumsily pushed a jumble of emotions at Darcy. She was not as skilled with using their bond as Darcy was, but she’d learned a great deal in just the last week. Darcy took a moment to sort through the impressions, picking up Jane’s distrust, displeasure, and unease. She sent back reassurance and focused once more on Hela.

 

“Why did you bring Elden back to us?” she asked.

 

Hela’s shoulders drooped, the first crack in the wall she had so carefully constructed around herself. “He had done no wrong,” she muttered. “He was an infant. Innocent. And he was my brother.”

 

Darcy tilted her head, curious at Hela’s choice of words. “Your brother,” she echoed. “And that was important to you?”

 

Hela straightened and stared straight ahead, past Darcy at the wall behind. “I will accept whatever fate the Mother decides for me,” she said in a flat, toneless voice.

 

Darcy pressed her lips together in annoyance. “Why did you try to violate your geis?” she asked.

 

“I will accept whatever fate the Mother decides for me,” Hela repeated doggedly.

 

Darcy sighed in frustration. She had no desire to force Hela to talk or use other means of getting the answers she needed. She got to her feet and nodded to Hela. “Thank you for speaking with us,” she said formally. Jane jumped up eagerly and started towards the door.

 

Hela rose from her seat on the windowsill and bowed slightly. “I serve at the Mother’s pleasure,” she said in the same dull voice.

 

Darcy didn’t let her frustration show until they were in the corridor. “Dammit,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead.

 

“That was a colossal waste of time,” Jane said unhelpfully. Darcy glared at her.

 

“I realize that,” she snapped. “I’m going to have to ask Brain-Skuld. I hate asking Brain-Skuld.”

 

Jane’s face scrunched up. “If she’s just a physical manifestation of knowledge, how can she possibly experience emotions?” she asked.

 

“The hell if I know,” Darcy replied. “I have stopped asking ‘why’ and ‘how’ every time something bizarre happens in my life.”

 

“That goes against  _ every _ scientific method of discovery,” Jane protested.

 

“Good thing I’m not a scientist,” Darcy said with a sigh. “Come on. The girls are at the training fields with Sif, so our chambers should be nice and quiet.”

 

“Why do I have to come with you to talk to Brain-Skuld?” Jane asked, the whine back in her voice.

 

“Because you are going to be in my head for the rest of your life and you might as well get used to it now,” Darcy retorted, and grabbed Jane’s arm. “Let’s go.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

The Bifrost hummed with a note completely unique in the universe. In all his travels, Loki had never heard anything quite like it. It was a sound both comforting and anxiety-inducing at the same time for him, and it took effort to remain still as it powered up around him.

 

He stood in front of the dais, hands clasped behind his back, waiting. He could feel Heimdall’s steady gaze, but the Gatekeeper, as usual, kept his counsel to himself. Heimdall rarely ventured an opinion on anything, and then only on things that pertained directly to his duties. On the matter of Loki’s eldest child, he had been characteristically silent.

 

The Bifrost beam lanced out into the depths of space, piercing vast distances in seconds. In less than a minute, he would face Angrboda for the first time since the end of trade negotiations with Niflheim nearly two years ago. He had sent her messages from time to time, keeping her updated in his search for their daughter, but things between them had most definitely been… strained. 

 

He knew that Angrboda blamed herself for Hela’s deeds, much the same as he did. After all, if she had not surrendered her daughter to Skuld’s custody, then the child would never have been inspired to kill him or Darcy.

 

But Loki knew that she was not to blame any more than he was. It did not stop the feelings of guilt, however, and Hela’s trial and sentencing at the hands of the norns would be no easier on Angrboda as they would be on him.

 

His thoughts were interrupted by Angrboda’s arrival, accompanied by her favorite cousin, Asmund, and her younger brother, Aski. Aski was little more than a boy, hardly older than Hela, but he was nearly of height with Loki, all gangly limbs.

 

Angrboda appeared worried and distracted, though it would have been difficult for someone not familiar with Niflungar expressions to decipher that. She walked straight up to Loki, hands extended. Loki clasped her hands and tilted his forehead down to meet hers in the traditional Niflungar greeting between family members. They were, after all, family. They shared a daughter.

 

“Is she well?” Angrboda demanded without preamble. “She is not injured, is she?”

 

“She is in perfect health,” Loki assured her. “Her magic has been restricted, that is all.”

 

“Of course,” Angrboda replied, nodding. She remembered herself and half-turned toward her brother. “You remember Aski, my brother?”

 

“Yes, of course,” Loki said, nodding toward the boy. He nodded back with the gravity only a child desiring to be treated as an adult could achieve. “Asmund,” Loki went on, offering his hand to the older man.

 

“Loki,” Asmund replied, clasping Loki’s hand. “We should be grateful for good news, I suppose. It could have been far worse.”

 

“Yes, it could,” Loki replied.

 

After thanking Heimdall for his time, Loki escorted the trio of Niflungar to the palace. He brought them first to his mother’s sitting room, where the Queen of Asgard waited alone. Loki glanced around quickly and frowned.

 

“Where is Darcy?” Loki asked his mother in a quiet voice.

 

“She sent word she would be delayed,” Frigga whispered back. “She wished you to continue without her.”

 

Loki’s frown grew but he said nothing, allowing his mother to greet the Niflungar. There was no reason to delay the inevitable, and Loki’s unease was growing by the minute, so he touched Angrboda’s arm and murmured, “May I speak to you in private?”

 

She peered up at him with a concerned expression. “Of course, my friend.” Loki led her to the terrace and closed the partition so they would not be overheard. “What is it?” Angrboda demanded, sounding worried. “Is it something to do with Hela?”

 

“Yes,” Loki replied. “And no.”

 

“Then tell me,” Angrboda insisted. 

 

“It is about Hela’s parentage,” Loki said delicately.

 

Angrboda gave him an exasperated look. “Just  _ say _ it, Loki. You always did speak in riddles. I would think there is no need of them here.”

 

Loki looked down at his hands. He had not told anyone, not even Darcy, that he intended to tell Angrboda the truth of his heritage. Indeed, there could be no hiding it from her, as Hela knew and Loki did not trust her to keep that fact to herself. He had known for some time that this moment would come, but he had chosen not to think of it until it was upon him.

 

“I am not Odin’s son by blood,” he said abruptly, looking up at Angrboda. “I was taken from my birth parent and given to the Allfather by the norns.”

 

Angrboda’s eyes widened, but she didn’t otherwise react. “I see,” she said after a moment. “Why are you telling me this, Loki?”

 

“Because I would rather you learn the truth from me, and not from any other source,” Loki replied.

 

Angrboda shook her head. “What does it matter if you are not Odinson by birth? He has claimed you legally and before witnesses. Surely that is all that matters.”

 

“I am not Aesir, either,” Loki said. “This form that I wear is a mask, placed on me by my mother, Frigga, when I was an infant.”

 

She fell silent, staring at him for a long time. “Are you… Niflungar?” she asked, confusion coloring her voice. “Oh,  _ stars _ , please tell me we are not related,” she added in a rush.

 

Loki was surprised enough to laugh briefly. “No, I am quite certain we are not,” he assured her. “As I am also not Niflungar.” He took a deep breath and braced himself. “I am a Jotun, son of Laufey himself, born at the end of the war with Asgard. Sigyn stole me away from my progenitor and placed me where the Allfather would find me and take pity.”

 

He waited for her reaction, for any sign of revulsion or anger, but Angrboda simply stared at him again in silence, her expression unreadable. Finally she sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand. “Loki, why in the name of the Midnight Goddess would I care if you are a Frost Giant?” she asked in a tired voice. 

 

That was not the reaction he had been expecting.

 

“The people of Asgard have always viewed the Jotnar as monsters,” Loki pointed out hesitantly.

 

Angrboda lowered her hand. “The people of Asgard,” she echoed. “Not Niflheim. That war had nothing to do with us. We have no more opinion on the Jotnar as we do on the mortals of Midgard. The color of your skin has never meant anything to me. Clearly, seeing as you are not Niflungar.” She reached over and put her hand on top of his, contrasting his pale skin against her charcoal-black.

 

Loki stared down at her hand resting against his, and then up at her face. “You truly do not care at all, do you?” he asked in a quiet voice.

 

“No,” she assured him. “I do not. I have one question, though.”

 

“Anything,” Loki said quickly. “Ask.”

 

“If you are a Frost Giant, why are you so small?” Angrboda asked with a teasing note to her voice.

 

That surprised another laugh from him. “I am a smárfolk, as they call themselves. They are born among the Jotnar but are smaller in stature. They are not looked upon with great charity, and many of them are killed at birth.”

 

Angrboda’s expression turned sad. “Is that why you were given to Odin? And you say Sigyn did this? Did she know you would one day be her lagsmaðr?”

 

“I cannot answer either question,” Loki replied with a shrug. “Darcy still has some gaps in her memories, and she does not remember it very clearly.”

 

Angrboda rubbed her lower lip with her thumb. “I would be very curious to know,” she murmured to herself. She looked back up at him. “What does Hela look like?” she asked suddenly. “If she is a crossbreed of a Jotun and a Niflungar, what is her appearance?”

 

“She is very small,” Loki told her. “She has certainly not favored any giant in her bloodline. At the moment she wears a mask that makes her appear Aesir, save for her eyes. They are unmistakable Niflungar.”

 

Angrboda rubbed her lip again. “Is this why you asked to speak to me alone? To tell me that you are Jotun?”

 

“I feared you would have a more negative reaction,” Loki admitted.

 

Angrboda frowned. “Does no one else know?” she asked. “Your people, the Asgardians, do they not know?”

 

“My father kept it a secret from all except my mother and our master healer,” Loki said. “I myself did not know until Skuld saw fit to allow me to discover it.”

 

Angrboda winced and patted his hand. “I am sorry,” she said softly. “I did not mean to remind you of that time.”

 

Loki shook his head. “I am never able to stop thinking of it,” Loki told her.

 

She peered up at him for a long moment, biting her lower lip. “I am sorry, Loki,” she said again. “But I must know. When we were together, had Skuld--”

 

“No,” Loki interrupted firmly. “No. She enthralled me some time after you left Asgard.”

 

He could see the relief palpable on her face. He turned his hand over so he could clasp hers. “Whatever else has happened, I have never regretted that time,” he told her softly.

 

She smiled at him. “Neither have I,” she replied. She patted his hand again. “I wish to see her. Can you take me to her?”

 

“Yes, of course,” Loki offered her his arm. “Darcy wished to accompany us but she had unavoidable business.”

 

“She will not mind, though, that we are with Hela together, and without her?”

 

Loki smiled faintly. “She will not,” she confirmed. “Darcy has never been jealous of anyone, save perhaps Hariasa.”

 

Angrboda sighed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever did become of her?” she asked. “Surely she has given up on you by now?”

 

“I should hope so, she was married last year,” Loki replied.

 

Angrboda snorted indelicately. “That is a relief.”

 

Loki escorted Angrboda from the terrace and into the corridor beyond. As they headed towards Hela’s chambers, Loki heard a familiar gait approaching from behind them. He turned to see Fenris loping towards them, ears pricked and tongue lolling.

 

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your sisters on the training field?” Loki asked his son.

 

Fenris exhaled noisily and shook his head as he came to a stop in front of them. He sat back on his haunches and offered a paw to Angrboda.

 

“Hello, Fenris,” she greeted with a smile, taking his paw and shaking it up and down. “You have grown a great deal since I last saw you. Do you remember me?”

 

Fenris nodded once and allowed Angrboda to ruffle his ears before snuffling at her hand. He thumped his tail against the ground a few times.

 

“I’m afraid we have business at the moment,  _ minn niðr _ ,” Loki told him. Fenris got to his feet and bumped his head against Loki’s hip insistently. “I’m afraid not, Fenris,” Loki said firmly. 

 

“Let him come,” Angrboda said, reaching over to ruffle his ears again. “Hela is his sister, after all. What harm could he do?”

 

Fenris gave his father a canine grin and panted. Loki stared narrow-eyed at him for a moment. He pointed at Fenris and said, “You will behave. You will not make recriminations for Elden’s kidnapping. Is that understood?”

 

Fenris made a quiet “wuff” sound in agreement and wagged his tail. Loki sighed but let his hand rest on Fenris’ shoulder as they walked. It did not take them long to reach the chambers where Hela was being kept. Angrboda came to an abrupt stop in the corridor, pulling her arm from Loki’s

 

“What if she hates me?” she whispered, looking up at Loki with fear in her eyes. “What if she despises me for giving her to Skuld? All of this, everything that happened to her, all of it is my fault. If I had only kept her--”

 

“No, Angrboda,” Loki interrupted her gently. “None of this was your fault. Skuld came you, a young woman, and demanded that you give her your child. She was the Eldest norn, and the Mother of the Ways. How could you have refused? Whatever that was done to Hela is on Skuld, not you.”

 

She gave him a shrewd look. “Who was it that said that to you? Was it your wife?”

 

“Yes,” he admitted. “Several times.”

 

“Hmm,” she said, unconvinced. She stared at the locked door for several moments until Fenris nuzzled her hand and whined, gazing up at her with  his jade-green eyes. She smiled nervously at him and then nodded to Loki. “I am ready.”

 

Loki gestured at the guards, who unbarred the door and swung it open. Fenris was the first through, and Loki gestured for Angrboda to precede him.

 

Hela was standing next to the bed, as if she had just risen. She held a book in one hand, her finger keeping her place. Loki was satisfied to see she had bathed and dressed in new clothing, though she had chosen austere Niflungar colors rather than Asgard’s rich jewel tones. The young sorceress paid no heed to either Loki or Fenris; her attention was captured by Angrboda.

 

For a long, tense moment, the two women stared at each other. Hela slowly put the book down onto the bed. “Mother?” she asked in a breathy voice. “Are you… are you my mother?”

 

“Yes, I am,” Angrboda confirmed, and Loki saw her voice fill with tears. “You are even more beautiful than I could have hoped for.”

 

Hela blinked, clearly not expecting that. “Even though I am a halfbreed?” she asked suspiciously.

 

“I never cared about that, my darling,” Angrboda assured her. “I have loved you and thought of you every day of your life.”

 

Hela seemed to shrink in on herself, pulling away from both of them. “Then why did you give me away?” she asked in a small voice. 

 

Angrboda pressed her hands to her cheeks, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I was young, and I trusted Skuld too much. She told me she had need of you. She promised me she would care for you as her own child.”

 

“She did,” Hela hissed, almost by instinct. “She loved me. She  _ did _ .”

 

“I do not doubt it,” Angrboda replied quietly. “But I should never have given you up.”

 

“I am a halfblood bastard,” Hela said mulishly. “I would not have been accepted. Not on your world or this one.”

 

“I am second in line for the throne after my father,” Angrboda told her. “You may not be able to be my heir, but you are my child, and they would have treated you as such.”

 

Hela looked from Angrboda to Loki and back, and then finally at Fenris. She paused, head tilted, as she peered curiously at the wolf. “Who are you?” she asked him.

 

“This is Fenris,” Loki introduced. “He is your brother.”

 

Hela’s eyes widened and she looked back at Loki. “I have another brother?” she asked, her voice changing. 

 

“He is older than Elden, but younger than you,” Loki told her.

 

Fenris trotted right up to Hela and sat down, giving her a baleful look. She crouched down to get on eyelevel with him. 

 

“I am sorry Helblindi took our brother from you,” she said solemnly. “I never intended for that to happen.”

 

She reached out to let Fenris sniff her hand, but Fenris opened his jaws and took her hand between his teeth. He did not bite down, but merely held her hand for a few seconds, clearly telling her that he could cause her great pain if he so desired. He released her without breaking skin and then nuzzled her hand, wagging his tail.

 

“I am sorry,” Hela said again, and hesitantly stroked his head between his ears. Fenris rose to his feet and thrust his muzzle into her face, licking her nose and cheeks. Hela squealed in surprise and fell backwards onto her hindquarters, raising her hands to fend him off. Fenris was implacable, though, and did not relent until he had thoroughly washed his older sister’s face. Satisfied with his work, he sat back again, looking quite smug.

 

Hela sputtered and wiped her face on her sleeve. She resumed stroking Fenris’ head as she looked over at her parents. “I did think of you,” she told Angrboda. “Quite often, actually.”

 

Angrboda smiled faintly as more tears pooled in her eyes. She gestured towards the floor next to Hela. “May I sit?”

 

Hela nodded. Both Loki and Angrboda sat on the floor on either side of her. Hela stared at Fenris for a moment, then turned to Loki. “How do you have a wolf for a son?”

 

Loki raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. “To be perfectly honest, it was completely by accident.”

 

“Oh, so the same as I, then,” Hela said with a straight face.

 

Angrboda barked a sharp laugh. “Oh, yes,” she said, looking over at Loki. “There can be no doubt she is yours.”


	25. Had To Lose My Way To Know Which Road To Take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got nothin' this week. Please enjoy, drop me a line, or check out my other WIPs and let me know what you think.

Hela’s trial did not take place in the throne room. Instead they used a private dining hall that had the tables removed. The only furniture that remained were six chairs placed on one end of the chamber. Wyrd and Darcy sat in the center two chairs, their four sisters on either side. They were all dressed in the traditional white gowns of the norns, each with a embroidered surcoat in their personal sigil color.

On the right side of the chamber stood Odin, Frigga, Thor, and Jane, as well as Asmund and Aski. As this was a norn affair and not Asgardian, there would be no one else allowed to attend the trial other than the accused and her parents. There would be no jury, as the norns would determine guilt and the sentence, as well as execute the sentence.

Darcy’s palms were sweating. While she had offered the service of mediation before, on Muspell, she had not presided over a trial in this vessel before. And to top it off, it was the trial of her step-daughter. But there was no such thing as conflict of interest for the norns. Or at least, there wasn’t _supposed_ to be. But all Darcy could think of was Loki, and a look of disappointment or worse, anger, in his pale green eyes.

But then the doors swung open and Hela walked in, flanked by Loki and Angrboda. Hela was not restrained other than the anti-magic cuffs, per Loki’s request and granted by Wyrd. Loki and Angrboda, both accomplished sorcerers, would be all the guard necessary for the accused.

Hela, Loki, and Angrboda came to a stop about fifteen feet in front of the norns’ chairs. Darcy could not meet Loki’s gaze, though he was watching her closely, and instead focused on Hela. She looked so _young_ , but she held herself straight and tall, her expression grim.

For a moment the room was silent. Then Wyrd took a deep breath.

“Hela, daughter of Loki Odinson and Angrboda the Fearless, ward of the Lady Skuld, you stand accused of two counts of kidnapping and imprisonment of a norn, two counts of attempted murder of a norn’s lagsmaðr, of being an accomplice in the kidnapping of the son of a norn, and the theft of a weapon under the guardianship of a norn. Furthermore, we will act on behalf of the Throne of Asgard in the matter of the attempted murder of the consort of the Crown Prince. Do you understand the charges made against you?”

Hela swallowed thickly but squared her shoulders. “Yes,” she said in a quiet, but clear voice. Loki place one hand on the small of her back, and she didn’t flinch from the contact.

Wyrd gave Hela a baleful look. “Do you deny your guilt of these charges?”

“No,” Hela said in the same soft, clear voice.

“At this time, the accused may speak to her defense,” Wyrd said.

Everyone looked at Hela, who stared straight ahead for several seconds. “I will accept whatever fate the Mother of the Ways decides for me,” she said flatly.

Loki frowned but did not say anything. He couldn’t, not yet. Angrboda looked as if she was about to cry, if Darcy was reading her expression right. Niflungar were notoriously hard to read.

“Is there anyone who would speak on behalf of the accused?” Wyrd asked.

“I would,” Loki said, raising his chin.

Wyrd turned to look at Darcy, who had her hands clenched under the cover of her surcoat. “Sister Sigyn. Do you give your consent for your lagsmaðr to speak on behalf of the accused?”

She could say no. It was her right. Loki was her lagsmaðr and was expected to support her in all things. For him to speak on the behalf of someone who had wronged her could be seen almost as a betrayal.

“I do,” she said, and sent up a thankful prayer that her voice didn’t shake.

Loki inclined his head at her before he began to speak. “The Sisterhood is now aware of the true person that Skuld was. You know what was done to me. You know her crimes. Is it any surprise that she would raise an innocent child to be an extension of her madness, of her hatred? If a child commits a crime, is it the fault of the child, or the parent?”

He put his hand on Hela’s shoulder and she glanced up at him, briefly, and the flash of raw emotion Darcy saw on the girl’s face ripped through her chest.

“And who can fault Hela for being loyal to her foster mother?” Loki continued. “Who will say she was wrong for desiring revenge for her mother’s murder? Would any of us have done different? Yet despite this she still cared for her infant brother. She still brought him safely to me and his mother. When she realized the truth of matters, she attempted to break her geis, even at the cost of her life. She willingly consented to her incarceration and she has chosen to accept whatever fate is determined for her. Surely all of these things must be taken into account.”

When Loki fell silent, Wyrd nodded in acknowledgement. “Does anyone else wish to speak on behalf of the accused?”

There was silence in the room. Angrboda looked even more distressed. Wyrd nodded again. “Please clear the room.”

Everyone save the norns filed out of the room. Darcy let out an explosive breath and unclenched her hands, drying them on her skirt.

“Are you alright?” Ingrit asked from beside her, peering at her with a slight frown.

“Not really,” Darcy replied.

“You cannot allow yourself to be swayed by emotions,” Urd said with a sniff. “We are impartial in all things.”

“Yes, Urd, _thank you_ ,” Darcy said, slightly too loud. “I’m aware,” she continued, tempering her tone.

Wyrd patted Darcy’s arm. “It is difficult to detach yourself emotionally this young in your vessel,” she said. “And so soon bonded with your lagmsaðr.”

Darcy did not like the condescending note in her older sister’s voice, and she was really tired of the other norns constantly telling her that she was too “young in her vessel.” She hadn’t been too young in her vessel to become Ragnarok, or to kill Skuld, or to become Mother of the Ways.

“Perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand,” Helke suggested smoothly. “Sigyn, the crimes were against you and your family. What do you think?”

“She’s Loki’s daughter,” Darcy said helplessly.

“And she is fortunate for that, as anyone else would have been _executed_ ,” Urd said sharply.

“She is a child,” Ingrit replied coldly, glaring at Urd.

“Yes, don’t your lagsmaðrs have children her age?” Urd retorted.

“That has _nothing_ to do with this,” Ingrit snapped.

“Sisters, please,” Wyrd interrupted, raising her hands. “There is never any excuse for us to argue. Urd, you would do well to temper your tongue. There is no need for you to sharpen it on us.”

“Yes, Eldest,” Urd said stiffly.

Wyrd leaned forward to look around Darcy and Ingrit. “Embla. You have not spoken a word on this matter since we arrived on Asgard.”

Darcy turned to look at Embla. She wasn’t young in her vessel, she was just _young_. The vessel she inhabited was only her second, and all her sisters had been grown when she was born. She looked startled that she was even consulted.

After a moment of consideration, she said, “I think Loki is right. Skuld… she made Loki do such horrible things. Sigyn said that Skuld made Hela do terrible things, as well. But that is not Hela’s fault. That is Skuld’s. Hela is so young… She did not know the difference.”

“She is old enough to be held responsible for her own actions,” Urd cut in, giving Embla a stern look. Embla bit her lip and looked down.

“I agree with Embla,” Ingrit said, glaring at Urd again. “Hela is a product of her upbringing. And my Awakening was not so long ago that I have forgotten what it means to love a mother. Had my vessel’s birth mother been murdered, I would seek revenge at all costs.”

“But to seek revenge against a norn?” Urd challenged. “She should have come to us for mediation.”

“Perhaps not,” Helke said. “Sigyn did tell us Skuld kept Hela isolated. Hela had no reason to trust us, or to believe we would have provided mediation. Also she had no reason to believe we would have sided with her against Sigyn. Which we _wouldn’t_ have, seeing as Sigyn’s actions were justified.”

“So you are condoning her actions?” Urd demanded. “You would judge her innocent?”

“No,” Helke said firmly. “I just do not want to see the potential she carries wasted.”

“Can she be retrained?” Ingrit asked Helke. “Can she be reshaped from the image Skuld created her in?”

“I think so, yes,” Helke replied.

“Ultimately the decision is Sigyn’s,” Wyrd said, turning to look at Darcy. “Have you made a decision, sister?”

Darcy licked her lower lip. “Yeah. I have.”

The others were summoned back into the room, and Darcy found she could now look Loki in the face. He gave her a searching look, sending a questioning thought in her direction, which she replied with soothing emotion. He relaxed, just noticeably.

Hela, despite her bravado, looked nervous. Her hands were clenched at her sides and her breathing was rapid and shallow. Darcy watched her for a few minutes, wondering what she was thinking.

“The Sisterhood has come to a decision,” Wyrd announced. “The accused will step forward.”

Hela stepped away from Loki and Angrboda, standing on her own in front of the norns. Darcy rose to her feet. She didn’t have to, but she was human, and it felt right.

“Hela, daughter of Loki Odinson and Angrboda the Fearless,” she began, and was again thankful that her voice didn’t quaver. “For your crimes against the norns, you have been found guilty. Your magic will be restrained by the cuffs you now wear. For half the year, you will live on Niflheim, under the supervision of your mother. For the other half, you will live on Midgard or Asgard, under the supervision of your father. You will never leave the presence of your supervising parent. You will have no access to your magic save what they approve. You will be expected to serve the people of Niflheim, Midgard, and Asgard as payment for your crimes. In addition, Jane Foster will choose your punishment for your attempt on her life.”

Hela looked stunned at Darcy’s words. Darcy wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing but Loki was practically _glowing_ in her direction and it felt so damn good for him to be that _happy_ that she could barely keep herself from giggling as she turned to gesture for Jane.

Jane looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Darcy hadn’t warned her this would happen because Darcy hadn’t thought of it until the last minute. But Jane walked over to Darcy’s side and stared wide-eyed at Hela for several silent seconds.

It was as if the room held its breath.

“What is your decision, Jane Foster?” Darcy prompted.

“Community service,” Jane blurted, and then pinched Darcy’s arm, sending very angry thoughts in Darcy’s direction.

Darcy didn’t care one bit because Loki looked like he would be perfectly happy to kiss Jane and Darcy was ready to do the same and it was _over_ , thank God.

“Does the accused understand her sentence?” Wyrd asked, but it was just a formality.

“Yes,” Hela said, and her voice broke. “Yes,” she said louder.

Angrboda made a sound suspiciously like a sob and pulled Hela into a tight hug. Hela stiffened, but only for a moment before relaxing and allowing her mother to embrace her.

Darcy barely heard Wyrd declare an end to the trial. Jane pinched her arm again vindictively despite knowing the bruise would show up on her arm, too, and left to rejoin Thor and Frigga. Ingrit put her hand on Darcy’s shoulder.

“You did the right thing, Sigyn,” she said.

“You think so?” Darcy asked, her voice pitched too high.

“Any decision you made would have been the right one,” Ingrit added unhelpfully.

Urd swept out of the room without even glancing in Darcy’s direction. Wyrd sighed, shook her head, and kissed Darcy’s cheek. “I will see you later, sister,” she promised, and started after Urd. Embla bounced over to Darcy and threw her arms around Darcy’s neck.

“I’m _so_ glad you were kind to her,” she whispered in Darcy’s ear. “Skuld always said the norns were not merciful, but she is just so _young_ and _sad_.”

“Thanks, Embla,” Darcy said, hugging the young norn back. Darcy extracted a promise from Ingrit and Helke to stick around at least for dinner, and went over to Loki, who was speaking to Angrboda and Hela in quiet tones. When Darcy got close, Loki broke away and came to greet her.

He curled one arm around her waist, cupping her face with his other hand. He leaned down and kissed her, long and sweet, and she could taste his relief on his tongue. “Thank you,” he said when they could speak again.

“Yeah, no problem,” Darcy replied breathlessly.

Loki pressed another kiss to her temple. “And you will be comfortable with her living with us? With the children?”

Darcy leaned her forehead against his chest and sighed heavily. “Babe, the _last_ thing I think Hela will ever do is hurt one of her siblings. Skuld might have screwed her up seven ways to Sunday, but that girl is _loyal_. She gets that from you.”

Loki snorted. “Hardly. Angrboda is fiercely protective of the ones she cares about.”

“And you aren’t?” Darcy asked, not lifting her head. She felt his lips against her hair. She tightened her hold on the front of his formal tunic. “Let’s get out of here,” she said before he answered. “I want to be not a norn now.”

“I can assist you with that,” Loki replied. “Let me speak to Hela and Angrboda, and I will take you somewhere quiet.”

Darcy released him and watched as he returned to his daughter and his ex. She had told him that it didn’t bother her that he had had a lover before her, and it _didn’t_ . But a small part of her was… _sad_ that he had a child that was not hers. That there was a part of his life that she could not share with him. Angrboda would always be the mother of Loki’s firstborn.

And the way he looked at Hela… Darcy couldn’t remember him looking that happy since Elden had been born. But she kept these thoughts in the dark, shielding them from Loki. There was no reason that he would ever need to know them. She would not make him feel guilty for loving Hela. Not ever.

XxxXxxX

Darcy sat on a blanket in the garden with her younger sisters, an empty bottle of wine in the basket next to her and a second one nearly empty as well. The girls played with Brenna on the lawn in front of them. Elden dozed in Darcy’s lap, unconcerned at the noise.

“I just don’t know how long I can ask her to be away from her home, you know?” Darcy said. “I mean, it’s already been two years, and Elden is nowhere old enough to be weaned. It might be another two years or more.”

“But she’s your handmaiden,” Helke pointed out. “It is her duty to go wherever you are.”

“But I don’t like asking her to live on an alien world so far from her family,” Darcy replied. “ _I_ would hate that. I’d hate to do that to anyone else.”

“Trust me, she is being well compensated,” Ingrit assured her. The Vanir norn had her legs stretched out in front of her, head tilted back so her face was raised to the sunshine. Judging from the dark golden tone of her skin, she enjoyed being outdoors a great deal. “She will want to work hard while she is young so that when she is married with her own children, she may live the same lifestyle as now.”

“Well, I’m not going to fire her just because she gets married,” Darcy said.

“Perhaps she may not wish to work with children,” Helke said.

“Maybe,” Darcy agreed neutrally. She looked down at Elden. “Not like we have that option, do we?”

Helke laughed. Ingrit snorted and Embla looked wistful. Neither of the two youngest norns had children, either in their current vessel or any previous. Embla because she was too young, and Ingrit because she had never desired a sexual relationship with any of her lagsmaðrs.

“You would be bored,” Helke told her.

“Yeah, probably,” Darcy admitted. Fenris loped over and snuffled at Elden’s stomach, assuring himself that his brother was safe and well, before returning to play with his sisters.

“Protective, isn’t he?” Helke observed.

“Very much so,” Darcy agreed. “One of Kari’s classmates was bullying her because she doesn’t talk and when Fenris found out, he disappeared for three hours. I heard later that he went to the kid’s house and put the fear of God into the poor boy. Then when Fenris and I showed up the next day for parent-teacher day, the kid nearly crapped his pants.”

“Serves him right,” Ingrit said brusquely.

“Well, he was better off with Fenris than if Loki had found out,” Darcy said with a rueful smile. “If Loki had handled it, the kid would have been a toad or something for a week.”

“Can he _actually_ turn someone into an animal?” Embla asked curiously.

“No, but he can make them _think_ they are,” Darcy replied. “And it is _really_ funny to watch.”

A shadow fell over Darcy and she looked up, shading her eyes with one hand. “Hey, Thor. What’s up?”

“Good afternoon, Lady Norns,” Thor said gravely, inclining his head respectfully.

“Your Highness,” Helke replied, nodding back.

“Darcy, can I speak with you in private?” Thor asked.

“Sure.” Darcy hefted Elden into the crook of one arm and held the other out for Thor to pull her to her feet. Elden slept like a rock and didn’t even notice. “What’s going on?” Darcy asked again when they had moved out of earshot of the other norns.

“I wished to speak to you of Jane,” Thor told her.

“Okaaay,” Darcy said. “What about Jane? You know you can always just ask her, right? She likes direct questions. She doesn’t do subtleties very well.”

“Yes, I have discovered,” Thor said, visibly amused. “But I wanted to talk to you more of what you have done for Jane.”

Darcy stopped walking and looked up at him. He was over a foot taller than her, but then again, so were most of the men in her life, so she was used to it. “To be honest, I didn’t do what I did for you. I did it because Jane is family.”

“I understand that,” Thor said. “But it was still done, and I am grateful. Both that Jane lives, and that she will be immortal. That is a gift I could not give her.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t looking forward to outliving her, either,” Darcy said dryly.

“But you and her are now intrinsically joined,” Thor continued. “You share a life force and a mind.”

“We are still two different people,” Darcy assured him. “That didn’t change.”

“I know,” Thor said. “Trust me, my friend. I know. But I still feel as if I should speak to you before.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Before what?”

Thor smiled. “Before I ask for her hand in marriage.”

Darcy only refrained from squealing in excitement because Elden had not been sleeping since they had gotten him back except if he was being held by Darcy, Loki, or Brenna, or in one instance Wyrd, and he needed all the sleep he could get.

“I _knew_ it,” Darcy said triumphantly. “Steve totally owes me fifty bucks.”

Thor frowned at her. “You laid a wager on me?” he demanded.

“I said it would take less than a week,” Darcy told him. “Steve said ten days. He thought you would be all old-fashioned and ask her mother’s permission first.”

“I intend to,” Thor told her. “But I wish to speak with Jane first.”

“But I still won,” Darcy said, waving her free hand. “Do you have a ring? Jane’s human, so she’ll want a ring.”

“Loki mentioned that possibility,” Thor said. “I am having one made. Does this mean you are agreeable to the union?”

“Agreeable?” Darcy echoed in disbelief. “Thor, I have been your number 1 shipper since the day you guys _met_. Hell yeah I’m agreeable.”

“So it will not be strange, to be joined to her? Or her to you?” Thor asked.

Darcy wrinkled her nose. “Eh, we’ll figure that out when we get to that. We haven’t really talked about it. I mean, Jane couldn’t look me in the eye for a few hours the morning after we got to Asgard, but that was about it.”

Thor chuckled at that. A thought occurred to her. She reached out and put a hand on Thor’s arm. “Hey, uh, you should probably talk to her about the fact you’re next in line to the throne, and what being queen of Asgard means. I don’t think she’s really thought about that for real, because, you know, the whole different life expectancies thing.”

“Of course,” Thor agreed. He looked down at Elden for a long moment. “It is my hope that Elden is not my heir for too much longer. Loki has told me it is his hope, as well.”

“You talked to Loki about marrying Jane?” Darcy asked.

“He was the first, before even Mother,” Thor told her.

Darcy smiled. “That’s great. I’m glad you did that. Brother bonding time is good for Loki. And yes. We would both very much like for Elden not to be heir to the throne of Asgard. With his heritage, it might not be for the best.”

Thor reached down to cup Elden’s head in one large hand. “You know we never cared about the color of his skin, or the nature of his blood,” he said. “I, nor my parents.”

“I know,” Darcy said. “But Asgard may not share your point of view.”

“True,” Thor said sadly. “But let us hope one day that may change, and Loki must no longer shroud himself in lies.”

“That would be nice,” Darcy agreed. “But about your proposal. Public or private?”

“Private. I do not think Jane would have the stomach for a spectacle.”

“True, but she’s going to have to get used to it if she’s going to be the queen of Asgard,” Darcy said unsympathetically. “I mean, your wedding alone is going to be huge.”

“Yes,” Thor said gravely. “Especially as the Asgardian people believe they were cheated of Loki’s.”

“Hah,” Darcy said, amused. “I won’t be losing any sleep over that.”

A teenaged Aesir girl approached them, wearing the palace livery. She bowed first to Thor, and then to Darcy. “Your Highness, Lady Norn,” she announced in a quavery voice. “Her Majesty requests your presence in the dining hall tonight, along with Prince Loki and Lady Jane Foster.”

“Please send my mother our thanks, and we will of course attend,” Thor replied, smiling gently at the girl. She blushed bright red, turned, and all but fled up the path.

“You have fangirls,” Darcy told him, starting to walk back to her sisters.

“I do not,” Thor protested. “I am the crown prince. My presence is intimidating to some.”

“Son, she was _not_ intimidated,” Darcy said with a laugh. “She was totally checking out the biceps of thunder.”

“She was a _child_ ,” Thor said, his own face turning pink.

“Old enough to _look_ ,” Darcy replied. “You’re gonna break a lotta hearts, you know. All the high-born Asgardian ladies are gonna be pissed that some commoner from Midgard stole you away from them.”

“Jane is no commoner,” Thor said hotly.

“Oh, _I_ know,” Darcy assured him. “But she’s not exactly royalty, either.”

“She _will_ be,” Thor muttered as they reached the waiting norns. “I will see you tonight, Darcy.”

“Yup!” Darcy said, waving him off. She sat back on the blanket.

“What did he want to speak with you about?” Embla asked curiously.

“He and Jane are gettin’ hitched and he wanted my blessing,” Darcy said. Elden blinked his eyes open and announced in no uncertain terms that he was hungry.

XxxXxxX

Because dinner was literally just the six of them, Darcy didn’t bother with a formal dress, and simply wore a tunic she had picked out of Loki’s side of the closet. He’d resized it for her, but kept the green color. He liked seeing her in green.

“Do you think he’ll get down on one knee?” Darcy asked, skipping alongside Loki’s long stride. “I know she made him watch _Pride & Prejudice _ . Both of them. So he _knows_ how to do a romantic, earth-style proposal.”

“I doubt he will take a knee,” Loki told her, smiling faintly at her antics. “The princes of Asgard take a knee for no one.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes. “Oh _really_?” she asked. “That sounds like a challenge, buddy.”

“I will love you faithfully, serve you without question, and give my life for your safety, but I will never kneel before you,” Loki told her, his eyes glinting with mischief.

Darcy swung around so she could walk backwards in front of him. “I dunno, man. I can think of a few ways I can bring you to your knees.”

Without breaking stride, Loki hooked an arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet, carrying her effortlessly with one arm. “I would _dearly_ like to see you try,” he said.

Darcy laced her fingers together behind his neck. “You got any plans for after dinner?”

“Hmm, I cannot think of any,” Loki replied.

“Oh, god, _really_? Out in public and everything?”

Darcy laughed and turned to see Jane standing by the door to the private dining hall, her face screwed up in disgust. “Just because _you’re_ grossed out by PDA’s doesn’t mean everyone else is,” she said, and stuck her tongue out at her friend.

“I’m pretty sure _everyone_ is grossed out by your PDA’s,” Jane retorted. “You guys act like you _just_ got married.”

“Oh, you mean spending a month thinking that he’s dead?” Darcy challenged, and kicked her feet. Loki obligingly put her down. “Don’t give me that look,” Darcy went on. “It all turned out okay.”

“Yeah, but it’s weird to hear you _joke_ about it,” Jane said. “Hey, Loki.”

“Hello, Jane,” Loki greeted. “Did my brother not escort you? He should be ashamed of himself.”

“He did, but he got stopped by someone in the next hall over, and told me to go ahead,” Jane said, pointing back the way she came. “Looked like it was important.”

Darcy exchanged a look with Loki. “I’m sure it was,” Loki murmured. “Well, I suppose I must compensate for his manners, as usual. At least I can say that I escorted the two most beautiful women in Asgard to dinner.”

“Flirt,” Darcy accused lightly, hooking her arm through his. Jane colored but didn’t take his proffered arm.

“I’m not, you know,” she said.

“Nonsense,” Loki replied breezily. “Any man would be lucky to call you his own.”

Jane didn’t look mollified. “But Thor isn’t a _man_ . He’s a _demigod_. And crown prince of Asgard. We met because I ran him over with my car.”

Darcy punched the air. “Ha! Finally you admit it was not my fault!”

“Shut up, Darcy,” Jane said. “I’m trying to be serious.”

“As am I,” Loki said mildly. “Trust me, Jane, you are far more an appropriate mate for my brother than any of the eligible ladies of Asagarth. Indeed, I have always thought you far too good for Thor. He most certainly does not deserve you.”

Jane did not look convinced and opened her mouth to protest, but Loki cut her off impatiently. “Jane, your worth is not in your appearance, it is in your mind and your accomplishments. Your intelligence and even your deeds are easily a match for any of Asgard’s academics, and none of them have the honor of claiming to have saved all Nine Realms, nor has anyone on Asgard survived carrying an Infinity Stone for as long as you have. You have no need to doubt your worth.”

Jane blinked at him a couple of times. “Okay, then,” she said, and finally took his arm. The door opened by unseen means as they approached it, allowing them entry. The table had been moved to the terrace, where Odin already sat with a cup of wine in one hand. Frigga stood near the railing, and turned towards the door.

“But where is Thor?” she cried unhappily.

“He is right behind us,” Loki assured her, escorting Jane to her chair while Darcy waited. “He was caught by unavoidable business.”

Odin chuckled to himself. “No business is unavoidable, if one tries hard enough,” he said softly. He looked up at Loki. “You would do well to learn that, my son. Business is not the most important thing in life.”

Loki froze in the act of holding Jane’s chair for her. Darcy felt his flicker of surprise before he squashed it down, like he did with most emotions relating to his father. “Yes, sir,” he said neutrally. “Am I to be caught up in business soon?”

Odin smiled mysteriously and drank from his cup. “Lady Jane. You look lovely tonight.”

Jane’s eyes went round. Since she began dating Thor on a regular basis, Odin might have said a dozen words to her, and _never_ to compliment her. Something had changed, and Darcy was pretty sure she knew what.

“Jane is lovely _every_ night, my dear,” Frigga admonished gently.

“Is that so?” Odin asked, raising an eyebrow. “Well, it must be true if you say it, my love.” As difficult as Odin could be, it always warmed Darcy’s heart to see how in love Frigga and Odin still were, even after being married for nearly three thousand years.

“And Darcy looks lovely as well,” Frigga prompted.

Odin glanced over at Darcy, noting the color and cut of her tunic, no doubt. “She certainly looks comfortable,” he said.

“ _Odin_ ,” Frigga said, exasperated.

There was a strange twinkle in Odin’s eye that Darcy had never seen before. “I am sure no one finds her lovelier than Loki, especially in those clothes,” he said mildly. “See to it that he is as good as his word, Lady Darcy.”

It was Darcy’s turn to stare at Odin. Had he just made a _joke_? And had he actually called her by her preferred name? When Loki took a seat next to her, she leaned over and whispered in a barely audible voice, “Your dad is freaking me out.”

“I have not seen him this jovial since Thor and I came home from our first victorious battle,” Loki replied.

Thor strode through the still-open doors and headed straight for Frigga. “I am sorry I was delayed, Mother,” he said apologetically, kissing her on the cheek.

“I am sure it was important,” Frigga said coyly, glancing at Jane.

Thor escorted Frigga to her seat and then sat next to Jane, leaning over to capture a kiss. Jane squeaked in surprise and pushed him away, turning scarlet.

“Before we dine,” Odin said, slightly raising his voice. “We have family business to attend to.” He waited a moment to ensure he had his son’s attention. “Some time ago, it was my intention to step down from the throne, and see Thor crowned in my place. Due to circumstances beyond our control, that was delayed.”

Darcy glanced over at Loki, who was staring resolutely at the table in front of him. Darcy reached over to put her hand atop his, clenched in his lap.

“As I said,” Odin continued, blue eyes fixed on Loki. “Circumstances beyond our control. But the Realms are at peace now, and I believe the time has come for us to begin the transition of power. Thor, you once told me that you would rather be a good man than a king. Are you prepared to become a good king?”

Thor was silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and turned to Jane. “I know we have not discussed it much, as there has been little time. But I have no desire to rule if you are not by my side.”

Jane stared up at him in shock. “Are you… Is that...Are you _proposing_ to me?”

“Yes,” Thor said. “I am. If I am to be king of Asgard, will you consent to be my queen?”

Jane fell silent, staring at him with a pale, bloodless face. As the silence stretched, Darcy wished she was close enough she could kick Jane in the shins under the table. Then she realized she _could_ , so she bashed her own leg against her chair. The bruise would be worth it later.

Jane jumped and glanced wildly over at Darcy, who made a “get on with it” gesture. “Yes,” Jane blurted. “Yes, of course, you dope.”

Darcy cheered out loud and lightly punched Loki in the arm. “Steve _so_ owes me fifty bucks!”

Odin gestured toward the side door and a servant appeared with goblets and a jug of wine. When they were all served, Odin rose to his feet and lifted his glass, prompting everyone to do likewise. “To Thor, King of Asgard, and Lady Jane, his queen,” he said. “May your reign be peaceful and prosperous as long as you both live.”

“Hear, hear,” Loki said, and grinned widely at Thor, who had a slightly-stunned expression on his face.

Once they had toasted and retaken their seats, Odin leaned toward Thor. “I have made one last decree that I hope you will uphold, Thor.”

“Of course, Father,” Thor said quickly, glancing down at Jane, who had downed her entire glass of wine in one go and was looking rather pink. “What is it?”

Odin turned his gaze to Loki. “I have appointed your brother as official ambassador to Midgard.”

Loki and Darcy both startled at the same time and turned to stare at him.

“ _What_?”


	26. Believe Me When I Say I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many good things have happened in the last couple of weeks for me. We replaced the supervisor at work that everyone hated for one that everyone loves, I have tentatively formulated an idea for an original novel, and my girlfriend is moving into a new apartment. I am very excited to share another chapter of this saga with you, and to usher in the final story arc for The Impossible Year. There will be one more as-of-yet-unnamed book in the series, and I will continue to add one-shots the The Golden Days. I am also going to update my other WIPs at some point in the near future...

“You know, it’s not a  _ terrible _ idea,” Darcy said later that night when they were alone in their bedroom. Their previous plans had been abandoned due to Loki’s intense agitation over his father’s revelation. Not Thor’s coronation, no, Loki was quite thrilled at that. He’d taken several breaks from ranting at his father to tell Darcy how much Thor had grown in maturity in just the last few years and how happy he was that Thor would be taking the throne after Odin.

 

“Not a terrible idea?” Loki demanded. “Darcy, it is a  _ horrible _ idea! I led an army of alien warriors in an attack on one of Midgard’s most influential cities!”

 

Darcy grimaced. “Not technically you,” she reminded him.

 

“There are images of me leading the Chitauri,” Loki said sourly.

 

“Not very good ones,” Darcy pointed out. “And there are some pretty clear ones of you fighting alongside the Avengers, so that sort of works in your favor.”

 

“Someone  _ will _ make the connection,” Loki told her.

 

Darcy shook her head. “Have you ever heard of the Clark Kent Effect?”

 

Loki gave her an exasperated look. “No, darling. I have never heard of the Clark Kent Effect,” he said bitingly. “I assume it is a Midgardian thing?”

 

“Yes,” Darcy said impatiently. “Clark Kent is Superman, okay? Superman is this famous superhero. Like Steve, or Tony, except he has a secret identity. But no one thinks Superman is Clark Kent because how could he be? Superman can fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes and lives in his fortress of solitude at the North Pole. Clark Kent is just a reporter. Anyone who tries to say that Clark Kent is Superman just gets laughed at because  _ everyone _ know that Superman is a hero and Clark Kent isn’t. Get it?”

 

Loki had that slightly glazed look he got when she rambled about earth-exclusive things, but he nodded slowly. “Yes?” he said questioningly. “The majority of Midgard will assume that I, a prince and an ambassador, cannot be the same person who attack Midgard because why would the Allfather appoint me as ambassador if I had committed such deeds. Yes?”

 

Darcy nodded happily. “Exactly. And anyone who  _ does _ try to say that you were the one who led the Chitauri will get labeled a conspiracy theorist and no one will listen to them.”

 

Loki heaved a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his already-disheveled hair. It was shorter than he usually wore it due it the ends being singed by his fire trick against Helblindi, and in a simple green undershirt and black pants, he looked almost human. His wedding band was once more in place on his finger, much to Darcy’s relief.

 

He walked over to the bed and flopped down face-first onto the bed next to her. She patted his back sympathetically. Loki was barely two years post-Skuld, and was trying to rebuild his life after spending a good half of it under compulsion. He had nine children he was trying to raise and support the best he could given his mental conditions, not to mention his duties as a lagsmaðr to the Mother of the Ways. And now Odin wanted to dump an ambassadorship on his lap. It was a lot to handle considering Loki was only in the equivilent of his mid-twenties.

 

“Hey,” Darcy said softly. “You’re not going to be alone in this. You’ve got me, and Odin’s going to give you advisors and stuff. I’ve got a little bit of experience with mediation, and I’m pretty street-smart when it comes to humans.”

 

Loki’s reply was completely muffled due to his face being pressed to the blanket. Darcy poked him in the ribs and he grunted before lifting his face to repeat himself. “I had hoped to have more experience myself before Odin assigned me such duties. I am barely past my majority and most of my training has been in combat, magicks, and assassinations.”

 

Darcy blinked at him. “Assassination?” she echoed. Loki nodded. “Just how many people has Odin had you assassinate?”

 

Loki narrowed his eyes. “Does it matter?”

 

“Uh, yeah, kinda,” Darcy said.

 

Loki grunted again and dropped his face back to the blanket. Darcy poked him once more in the ribs. “Loki, seriously,” she persisted. “How many people have you assassinated?”

 

Loki batted her hand away and continued to refuse to answer.

 

Darcy decided that it might be better to leave that conversation to a better time, and lay down on the bed next to him, hands folded on her stomach. They remained that way in silence for a few minutes before Darcy spoke again.

 

“Damn it,” she said softly.

 

“Hmm?” Loki asked.

 

“You being ambassador means I’ll need to go public as Sigyn the norn,” she said. “I can’t be both Darcy and Sigyn.”

 

Loki turned his head to face her. “What do you mean?” he asked with a frown.

 

“Well, logically speaking, it would be best for Sigyn the norn to be wife of the ambassador, not Darcy the human,” she explained. “And I don’t think the majority of humans could handle the whole ‘Darcy is a vessel’ thing. Also if I go public as Sigyn  _ and _ Darcy, that puts my human family at risk. And to be honest, if I want to be taken seriously as a norn, I can’t be seen as human, because no matter how far the women’s lib movement has come, no human male is going to accept my authority as a norn if they think I’m human.”

 

“That is ridiculous,” Loki said. “All of it.”

 

Darcy heaved a deep sigh. “Yeah, well, no one said humans were logical and shit.”

 

“I am sorry,” Loki said softly. “I know how much being Darcy means to you.”

 

Darcy turned her head to look at him. “You’re going to have to get used to calling me ‘Sigyn’ in public.”

 

His eyebrow twitched. “Hmm,” was his reply. “Does this mean you will  _ be _ Sigyn more, or just use the name?”

 

Darcy felt Sigyn’s bitch-face from the norn’s spot in Darcy’s brain. “Just use the name,” Darcy assured him. “If Sigyn wanted a more compliant vessel, she shouldn’t have gotten herself stuck in a human one.”

 

_ “Oh yes, because that was completely my choice,” _ Sigyn said sarcastically.

 

_ Shut up, _ Darcy replied without heat.

 

Loki shifted on the bed until he could raise his hand to touch her face. “It is strange,” he said softly. “To have fallen in love with one facet of you, and to swear allegiance to another. Sometimes it is hard to remember they are two sides of the same coin.”

 

Darcy turned so she could kiss his fingertips. “How’d I get so lucky to land a guy who loves even the bitchy side of me?”

 

_ “I am not bitchy, _ ” Sigyn protested.

 

_ You are a little, _ Darcy told her. Sigyn huffed and withdrew further to sulk.

 

Loki smiled faintly. “I am the lucky one,  _ elskede _ .” He sighed and dropped his hand. “We should begin making plans. And tell the children.” He rubbed his eyes and groaned. “We will need to arrange for an embassy.”

 

“I’ll head back to earth tomorrow and talk to Tony and Steve,” Darcy told him. “Not to mention I’m gonna need Tony to ghost me.”

 

Loki dropped his hand. “Ghost you?” he asked with a frown.

 

“Erasing all trace of Darcy Lewis from the internet and digital files,” Darcy explained. “All of it. Social security number, school records, medical records. My driver’s license, passport, the deed on our house, social media, work history, SHIELD files. All of it has to go.”

 

Loki’s expression was sad. “You are truly willing to sacrifice all of that for me?”

 

Darcy shrugged. “It was bound to happen eventually,” she said. “I mean, at some point people were going to start noticing that I wasn’t aging. Darcy was going to have to die at some point.”

 

“Still,” Loki said unhappily. “I do not wish to give up who you are for this.”

 

“I’m not,” Darcy promised. “I’m still going to be one hundred percent me. Just going by a different name.”

 

“Well, if any human dares to doubt your authority, they will answer to me,” Loki said firmly. He levered himself up on one elbow. 

 

Darcy grinned up at him. “Babe, if any human dares to doubt my authority, they will first answer to  _ me _ ,” she told him.

 

“Hmm, very well,” Loki acquiesced. “I suppose I can be convinced to dispose of the remains.” He leaned down and kissed her quite thoroughly. “I hope you are not over tired. We have a great deal of work to do.”

 

Darcy groaned. “Yeah,” she agreed reluctantly. “My younger sisters are still on Asgard. I should probably hit them up for some advice.”

 

“To battle, then?” Loki asked.

 

“To battle,” Darcy replied.

 

XxxXxxX

 

“You realize this is a permanent position,” Darcy asked, frowning up at Brenna. The Asgardian woman was a good head taller than Darcy and had more muscle definition than Loki, which was confusing to Darcy because she had never seen Brenna work out in the entire time Brenna had been serving as Elden’s wet nurse. “We are going to be living on earth until further notice. It might be a really long time.”

 

Brenna shrugged. “I understand, my lady. But where else will I receive the opportunity to explore a different realm? None of my cousins have ever even left Asagarth.”

 

“You won’t be able to go back to Asgard whenever you want,” Darcy warned. “You will go years without seeing your family.”

 

“Years pass swiftly for the Aesir, my lady,” Brenna reminded her gently.

 

“Do you want to start a family of your own?” Darcy pressed. “Is there someone you’re seeing? Someone you want to be seeing?”

 

Brenna, being the redhead she was, colored bright pink. “No, my lady,” she muttered.

 

Darcy raised an eyebrow. “You know I can tell when people are lying, right?” she said dryly.

 

Brenna blushed a deeper shade of pink and for a long moment said nothing. Then she took a deep breath. “The Lady Sif has already applied to serve as Prince Loki’s captain of guard,” she said in a rush.

 

Darcy blinked a couple of times. “Oh. Have you  _ talked _ to Sif, yet? Does she know you’re interested in her?”

 

Brenna nodded mutely.

 

“Okay, then,” Darcy said, feeling a great deal less guilty. “Awesome. That’s good to know. And just for your information, Loki has accepted Sif’s application.”

 

If Brenna turned any more pink, Darcy would have been concerned. The Aesir woman bobbed a curtsy and fled back towards the playroom where the girls and Elden waited. Darcy hid her smile behind her hand when Loki strode into the room, reading from his handheld tablet.

 

“What has  _ you _ in such a good mood?” he asked grouchily.

 

“Young love,” Darcy replied sobering. “What’s up?”

 

“I already have a dozen applications for exclusive trading rights to Midgard,” Loki said acidly. “Take a guess as to who was the first.”

 

“Thorvald, father of Hariasa,” Darcy replied without missing a beat.

 

“Precisely,” Loki snapped, and tossed the tablet onto one of the couches before collapsing onto it. Darcy sat next to him and threaded her fingers in his hair, gently massaging his scalp.

 

“How long can you delay approving those applications?” she asked.

 

Loki closed his eyes and leaned back into her touch. “By law, a year. But it has been so long since we have established trading rights with a new realm that the merchant guild will demand a sooner answer.”

 

“Screw them,” Darcy said bluntly. “They can wait. We have more important things to deal with.”

 

“Hmm,” Loki replied without opening his eyes. “When are you leaving?”

 

“In a couple hours.”

 

“Hmm,” Loki murmured, his muscles starting to relax. Darcy continued the massage for another few minutes until Loki groaned and opened his eyes. “ _ Faen. _ ”

 

“What?” Darcy asked.

 

“I still have to discuss picking my advising staff with Father,” he said. “He wants at least one of my cousins to go with me, but Hretha has just been married and Baldr and Nanna are expecting their first child.”

 

Darcy scrunched up her face as she thought. “Uh, what about Idunn and Bragi?”

 

Loki wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Bragi and Tyr were very close, and Idunn could never deny her brother anything.”

 

“Surely they were checked after Tyr tried to kill you,” Darcy said.

 

“They were, but I still do not trust them,” Loki said flatly.

 

“Ah. Okay,” Darcy resumed massaging his scalp. “Isn’t there  _ anyone _ you trust from the palace?”

 

“Sif,” Loki replied, closing his eyes again. “Hogun. But Hogun will not leave Thor. Not now.”

 

“Seriously? In all of Asagarth you trust two people?” Darcy asked skeptically.

 

“Four,” Loki said indignantly. “My mother and Brenna, as well.”

 

Darcy stared at him for a second. “But not Thor or your father?”

 

“Father certainly not,” Loki said, leaning into Darcy’s touch again. “Thor is too unpredictable to trust. He has a distressing tendency to revert to his pre-Jane behavior.”

 

Darcy smiled at the thought that Jane was the dividing point for Thor’s maturity. “Well, we can’t set up an embassy with just Sif and Brenna,” Darcy told him.

 

Loki gave a long, drawn out sigh. Darcy switched from massaging to lightly scratching. Loki shivered in response. “Tell you what,” Darcy went on. “Why don’t I ask Helke, Ingrit, and Embla to do the interviews? They’ll be able to make sure that no one unsavory gets added to the short list.”

 

“Very well,” Loki agreed, far quicker than Darcy expected. “Perhaps now I can accompany you to Midgard.”

 

“Okay, but why? Don’t you have a shit ton of things to do here?”

 

“Well, my afternoon has now fortunately cleared up, and I need to discuss setting up a source of finances with Stark,” Loki said. “We cannot live on the Sisterhood’s funds forever.”

 

“This is a lot more complicated than I’m used to,” Darcy complained. “Normally I just show up someplace and say ‘Hi, I’m a norn!’ and people give me stuff.”

 

Loki opened one eye and gave her a very skeptical look. “Have you ever set up an embassy before?”

 

“Not one I was going to be a part of,” Darcy admitted. She ceased her massage of Loki’s scalp, much to his disappointment, and leaned down to kiss him briefly. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

“You’re going to do  _ what _ ?” Tony demanded, staring at Darcy and Loki.

 

Darcy didn’t repeat herself because she knew Tony had heard what she had said the first time.

 

“Seriously?” Tony went on. “I thought your dad was pretty anti-mortal.”

 

“Apparently his opinion has changed,” Loki said dryly. “He wishes the embassy to be established as quickly as possible.”

 

“Well, you’ll need to apply to the UN for membership,” Tony said, rubbing his chin. “I can have my legal team draw up the paperwork but I don’t think Stark Industries can present it for you. I’ll ask Pepper. I don’t even know if you can join the UN if you’re from a different planet. Pepper might know that, too.”

 

“Where is Pepper?” Darcy asked.

 

“Uh...Paris today, I think,” Tony said.

 

“Actually, Sir, Miss Potts is in Marseille today,” JARVIS corrected politely.

 

“Right,” Tony said. “Marseille. She was in Paris yesterday.”

 

Darcy frowned. “Fashion week?”

 

“Yeah, I think so, why?” Tony asked, momentarily distracted.

 

Darcy looked at Loki. “We are going next year.”

 

“Whatever you wish,  _ elskede _ ,” Loki said patiently. “May we get back to business?”

 

“Sure,” Darcy said, waving one hand. “You guys talk. I’m going to find Steve.”

 

Steve opened the door to his suite before Darcy even rang the doorbell. “JARVIS?” she asked as she stepped into his apartment.

 

“Yeah,” Steve replied. “How’s Loki?”

 

“Completely healed, thanks to Asgard’s magical health care,” Darcy said. “Where’s Buck?.”

 

Bucky poked his head out of one of the bedrooms, saw it was Darcy, and came into the living room. “Hi, Darcy,” he said, his head twitching to the side.

 

“Hi, Bucky,” Darcy waved. “How you holding up?”

 

“Some days are good,” he said. “Some days are not so good.”

 

“But we’re working on it,” Steve said firmly. “Right, Buck?”

 

Bucky rolled his eyes but when he looked back at Darcy there was a fond expression on his face. “How are you?” he asked. “How is the kid?”

 

“Elden is happy to be home and refuses to sleep unless Brenna, Loki, or I are holding him,” Darcy told him. “And I still can’t thank you guys enough for helping me get him home.”

 

“We were happy to do it,” Steve told her softly, pulling her into a side hug. “What’s up? I didn’t expect you back on earth so soon.”

 

“Yeah, I thought we were going to stay on Asgard longer, too, but Odin kinda dropped a bombshell on us last night,” Darcy said. “You have any coffee? I haven’t had any since, like, before Elden got kidnapped and I’m seriously jonesing.”

 

It was only after Steve had brewed a pot of coffee and they were sitting around the table in the breakfast nook that they continued the conversation. “So, last night Odin decided to tell us that he was abdicating in favor of Thor, which we weren’t really surprised at, since Odin’s wanted to do that for the last four years,” Darcy went on. “But his last official act as king of Asgard was to appoint Loki ambassador to Midgard.”

 

Steve choked on his mouthful of coffee. “What?” he sputtered. “Seriously?”

 

“Yeah,” Darcy said, handing Steve a napkin. “Not what we were expecting.”

 

“I should say so,” Steve muttered, wiping up the spilled coffee on the table. 

 

Bucky looked from Darcy to Steve. “Why is that…” he trailed off, his head twitching. Steve and Darcy waited patiently for him to finish the sentence. “Surprising,” Bucky added a few seconds later.

 

Darcy turned to look at Steve. “Does he know about the Incident?” she asked.

 

“Yes,” Steve said slowly. “I might have left out that Loki was involved.”

 

“What.” Bucky said flatly in a tone that was not at all a question. He glared at Steve. “What else haven’t you told me?” he demanded.

 

“It was for a good reason, I swear,” Steve protested, holding up his hands.

 

“Tell me,” Bucky growled.

 

“Loki was mind-controlled by Skuld and Thanos into leading the Chitauri attack on New York City,” Darcy told him. “There are some images and videos of Loki but they’re hard to identify as him because he’s wearing a big-ass helmet.”

 

“We did delete all of SHIELD’s files that identified Loki as the perpetrator of the attack after we found out he wasn’t at fault,” Steve added.

 

“Oh,” Bucky said, and looked down at the table. He seemed lost in thought for several minutes. Then he looked up at Darcy. She noticed he was still having some issues meeting her eyes. His gaze seemed locked on her chin. “What are you going to do?”

 

“Well, hopefully people aren’t going to make the connection between the Ambassador from Asgard to the dude who attacked New York, and if they do, we’ll try to discount them as conspiracy theorists. Kinda like the people who still think that JFK was assassinated by the CIA,” Darcy explained.

 

“He wasn’t,” Bucky said, a bit too quickly, his eyes glazing over. When he didn’t speak for several seconds, his eyes still glazed, Steve reached over and touched Bucky’s wrist.

 

“Hey, Buck, you okay?” he asked softly.

 

Bucky startled. “Mission completed; outcome successful,” he said in Russian.

 

Darcy tilted her head but it was Steve who responded. “What mission?” he asked gently.

 

Bucky blinked a few times. “Kennedy, John F. November 22, 1963.”

 

Both Darcy and Steve stared at Bucky for several long seconds. “Buck, did you… did you kill President Kennedy?” Steve asked, clearly not wanting to know the answer.

 

“No,” Bucky said, and Steve abruptly relaxed. “I killed the man who did.”

 

“Uh… didn’t Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald?” Darcy asked, confused.

 

Bucky blinked a couple of times. “Mission objectives: plant evidence framing Oswald, Lee H to deflect attention from Soviet interference. Escort Vasiliev, Stepan to and from sniper position. Dispose of all evidence tying USSR to assassination.”

 

Steve glanced at Darcy. “Uh… my Russian isn’t that great.”

 

“Apparently Oswald was the fall guy for the Soviets and the real assassin was some dude named Stepan Vasiliev that Bucky killed afterward,” Darcy translated, feeling slightly nauseous. “And my entire life has been a lie.”

 

Bucky’s expression cleared and he glanced around as if surprised to find himself sitting down. “What… What did I say?” he asked when he saw the looks on Steve’s and Darcy’s faces.

 

“Nothing important,” Steve assured him, patting his arm. “Just some stuff from a previous mission.”

 

“Was it… distressing?” Bucky asked, peering at Steve’s nose. “You look distressed.”

 

“It’s nothing, Buck. I promise,” Steve said soothingly.

 

Darcy pursed her lips. “Does that happen a lot? Losing time like that?”

 

“No,” Steve said. “Just sometimes when he’s tired.”

 

Darcy nodded to herself but decided to keep the offer of having Eir examine Bucky for later. She didn’t want Bucky to feel pressured into letting someone poke around in his head so soon after being freed from people poking around in his head.

 

“Is there something we can do to help?” Steve asked Darcy, his hand still resting on Bucky’s arm. Bucky seemed to have less issues with being touched, or with Steve touching him, at least. “Help set up the embassy, I mean.”

 

“Well, we could definitely use your positive endorsement,” Darcy said, leaning back in her chair. “You know, ‘Captain America welcomes Ambassador Loki to earth’ sort of thing. We can use all the good publicity we can get.”

 

“You bet,” Steve said. “You guys are gonna reach out to the UN?”

 

“Loki and Tony are talking about that right now,” Darcy told him. “Slightly hampered by the fact that Pepper is in France.”

 

Steve snorted impolitely. “Tony never got another personal assistant after he promoted Pepper and he badly needs one. Won’t admit it, though.”

 

“Tony Stark, need someone? Never,” Darcy said sarcastically. She pushed her mug towards Steve, who refilled it from the carafe. “So, enough about me. What are you guys’ long term plans now that Hydra is pushing daisies?”

 

XxxXxxX

 

“I don’t approve,” Sif said loudly, her voice echoing in the spacious foyer. She stood with her hands on her hips, wearing Midgardian jeans and a brown leather jacket, her dark hair pulled back in a tail. Loki, who was similarly dressed in standard North American garb, frowned at her, annoyed.

 

“You haven’t liked  _ any _ of the facilities we have toured, Sif,” he pointed out, his temper frayed.

 

“It is too hard to defend,” Sif protested, striding across the marble floor, the heels of her boots ringing. “These windows are made of glass, and open directly to the street. All that seperates it is that puny metal fence.”

 

“Yeah, well, most humans can’t easily scale a ten-foot wrought-iron fence with pointy bits at the top,” Darcy said, equally as annoyed as Loki. They had been scouring Manhattan for a suitable building to house the Asgardian embassy, and Sif had been very vocal in her displeasure. As captain of Loki’s guard, she had the right to refuse any option based on security.

 

Which wouldn’t normally be a problem except they had been looking for  _ four goddamn weeks _ . And frankly, Darcy was tired of it.

 

Their application for entry into the UN was still being considered, after taking nearly two weeks to convince the delegates that yes, it was real and yes, they were serious. Loki had already appeared before the entire assembly three times now in secret sessions. The public had not been informed yet that Asgard had sent an emissary to their planet, and they would not make the announcement until everything was in place.

 

Including the embassy building itself.

 

“Look, we can replace the windows,” Darcy said, rubbing her forehead. “And add a forcefield to the exterior fence. Hell, we can build a goddamn wall if that’ll make you feel better. We can completely retrofit this place with Asgardian security measures. But you gotta keep in mind that this is earth. We are not going to find anything that comes close to Asgardian standards.”

 

Sif crossed her arms. “This is true,” she said unhappily.

 

“I  _ like _ this one,” Darcy went on. “It has the best location and the interior design doesn’t make me want to rip out my eyeballs. Not to mention it needs minimal renovations  _ and _ Tony said he thinks the owners will sell, not just rent.”

 

Sif looked around again. “We should examine it further,” she said. “I will make note of what changes need to be made and how easy they will be.”

 

“ _ Thank _ you,” Darcy said. “I’ll call the lawyer.”

 

Pepper had informed Tony that no, Stark Industries lawyers couldn’t also work for the Asgardian embassy, so she had given Darcy a very short list of recommendations. Darcy had chosen Hogarth, Chao, & Benowitz based solely on her impression of the junior partner who had done the initial consult. When the law firm found out who their new potential client was, they tried to move her to Hogarth herself, but Darcy had insisted on sticking with the junior partner with the odd nickname.

 

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through the contacts until she reached the right one and dialed. It only rang once. “Hi, Foggy, it’s Sigyn,” Darcy said, rolling her eyes at Loki behind Sif’s back. “I think we found a place.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

It was six months to the day after Odin had announced his abdication and Loki’s appointment as ambassador. It felt a little surreal to Darcy that  _ this was it _ . Everything was in place. The embassy was fully set up, the Asgardian staff chosen. Their application to the UN had  _ finally _ been approved. They had been granted diplomatic visas to live indefinitely in America. The girls had even been enrolled in the same private school that many of the other UN delegates’ children went to, but only  _ after _ Sif had examined their security measures. She had only approved after Darcy had reminded her to take into account that the security measures only needed to be tested against humans, not Asgardians.

 

So this was the moment they had been working frantically towards for half a year. Darcy stood in the Bifrost chamber, wearing a gown that weighed nearly half her body weight, and tried to keep her mind off of how nervous she was.

 

“I  _ hate _ this,” Jane said for the third time. “I mean, it was one thing to be in a different  _ state _ as you, but a whole different  _ planet _ ? And that was even before we were soul sisters.”

 

“You do realize there is literally a portal leading from our basement directly into the palace, right?” Darcy asked, giving Jane an exasperated look. “Also we are  _ soul sisters _ . We can talk to each other whenever we want.”

 

Jane crossed her arms and pouted. “It’s not the same,” she complained.

 

“Janey, sweetie, we have been literally too busy to even be in the same room as each other for the last six months,” Darcy reminded her. “You are planning a wedding  _ and _ a coronation, and you are in the middle of a crash course on Asgardian royalty and politics. When exactly would we even have time to get together?”

 

“It won’t always be like that,” Jane said.

 

“No,” Darcy agreed. “It won’t. And when it isn’t, we can use the handy-dandy portal to visit each other.”

 

Jane sighed. “Do you ever miss New Mexico? Things were so much simpler then.”

 

Darcy took a second look at Jane. She looked  _ tired _ . She might be immortal now, but she was still human, with human limitations, and Darcy herself was feeling the effects of six months of only getting three or four hours of sleep a night.

 

“Yeah, sometimes,” Darcy said softly.

 

Jane’s eyes were very far away. “I wish we could go back, you know? Just us and the desert and the science. And Thor and Loki, too. It would be nice.”

 

Darcy nodded but didn’t reply. She was a norn. If she ever got to experience “the simple life” it was the exception, not the norm. This, being Sigyn, elbow deep in interplanetary politics, this was her life. She pulled Jane into a tight hug.

 

“You’re gonna be okay,” she murmured into Jane’s ear. “I know it’s a lot, and I know you don’t think so, but you’re gonna do fine.”

 

Jane hugged Darcy back. “Thanks. I really needed to hear that.”

 

“It is time,” Heimdall announced.

 

Darcy squeezed Jane one last time. “I love you.”

 

“Love you, too, Darcy,” Jane replied before retreating to stand beside Thor.

 

Loki took Jane’s place beside Darcy. He was wearing a new suit of armor in a completely different style than the one before. This one had more metal and fewer weak spots, less green fabric and more reinforced black leather. There was no helmet but he wore a circlet of gold that had small horns curving up from the brow. A emerald cloak was fastened to his shoulders by serpent-shaped buckles. He looked like a prince from another planet.

 

He offered Darcy his arm. “I think this will be our greatest battlefield,  _ elskede _ ,” he told her softly. “And perhaps the longest.”

 

Darcy placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. “I have weathered many battles,  _ angan _ , and I have emerged victorious from every one.”

 

“To battle, then?” he asked, his eyes glittering.

 

“To battle,” Darcy agreed.

 

The Bifrost activated before them, and when it was ready, they stepped into it. It was a rush, falling through space at faster than the speed of light, whipping through the void along a beam of pure energy. The journey took but moments, and Darcy wished it could have lasted longer.

 

They landed in front of the UN headquarters in Manhattan, in a roped-off area protected by the masses of reporters waiting for them. In front of the landing spot stood the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the United States, and Steve, in full uniform.

 

There was a moment of hushed awe as everyone stared at them, and it was a testament to Loki’s courage that he did not waver, not even for a second. He drew himself up and looked Steve in the eye.

 

“Greetings,” he announced in a loud, clear voice. “I am Loki, Prince of Asgard. We come in peace.”


	27. Whatever It Takes / You Take Me To The Top

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ducklings! Look at me, updating so quickly! Again, I am sorry I have had such an unpredictable update schedule, especially since I updated practically every other day with This Is Gospel, but such is the nature of swing shift. Also I have a girlfriend now and I try to spend most of my free time with her, so...
> 
> Anyway, enjoy and to all my American readers, have a safe and happy Halloween! Remember to keep all pets inside, especially black ones!

Darius Miller was too embarrassed to say he had no idea what was going on. He’d been pulled into his boss’ office that morning and had been handed an envelope stuffed full of NDA’s and employment contracts. He had been told a limo would pick him up at precisely 12:45 to take him to the interview. The only problem was that he had no idea what job he was interviewing for.

He was currently the junior administrative assistant to the head of Public Relations for Stark Industries, which sounded like a cush job but basically he was a coffee-fetcher and memo-deliverer. He’d taken the job because even in New York City it was hard for people like him to find jobs that offered complete health benefits and SI had some of the best.

So this mysterious job offer had definitely come as a surprise. The salary itself was staggering, not to mention a list of benefits a mile long up to and including all-expense-included overseas travel. That sounded exciting. But the sheer number of NDA’s, not to mention the life insurance and beneficiary forms, were slightly concerning. Behind the beneficiary form was a work-related long-term disability disclosure. What exactly was this job for?

The limo arrived at  _ exactly _ 12:45 but Darius had already been waiting for twenty minutes, confused, nervous, and a little scared, to be perfectly honest. He was  _ pretty _ sure it was legitimate; after all, it had been given to him by the PR manager for Stark Industries. Most likely it had to do with one of SI’s satellite companies. Maybe a research and development firm? He had no idea.

The limo driver didn’t speak other than to ask for Darius’ ID. He also seemed to have been warned beforehand because he didn’t comment on the fact that Darius didn’t match the information on the ID anymore, as he was in the process of getting an updated one, and hadn’t yet gotten the necessary medical documentation.

It was only a fifteen minute drive from Stark Tower to their destination, and when they arrived, Darius still had no idea what he was getting into. The building was older, built in neo-gothic style with gargoyles on the corners, surrounded by a ten-foot wrought iron fence that hummed ominously. The limo passed through the gate without stopping and pulled into the back courtyard where a tall, dark-haired woman waited.

The woman was wearing a dark red, long sleeved shirt of some smooth, thick material, leather pants with padded thighs, and heavy boots that reached her knees. She had actual  _ vambraces _ on her forearms. Like,  _ real _ armor. In one hand she held a flat, gold-colored baton.

Darius got out of the limo and surreptitiously wiped his palms on his thighs before walking over to the woman. “Uh...hi. I’m Darius Miller? I’m here for an interview?”

“Yes, you are expected,” the woman said in a no-nonsense tone. “Hold out your arms, please.”

When Darius did as requested, the woman waved the baton up and down his arms, legs, and abdomen. When nothing happened, she looked pleased and beckoned him to follow her. “This way,” she said.

Darius had to practically jog to keep up with the woman’s long strides. She brought him into the building, down a long hallway, and into what could easily have passed for a formal living room in the White House. It was pristine, untouched, and decorated all in creme and gold.

“You will wait here,” the woman ordered, and left via another door.

Darius looked around, even more confused than before. The sofas looked like they had never been sat on before, so he was a little afraid to. The windows looked out onto a small garden and beyond that a large square plot of land that looked like it was covered in sand and was currently otherwise empty.

After only a few minutes, the door the woman had left through opened again. Darius jumped and whirled around. A different woman stood in the doorway. She was shorter than Darius, though only by a couple of inches, with dark brown hair pulled up in a deceptively casual-looking chignon. She was wearing a purple silk blouse and white skinny jeans, and a gold necklace that was probably worth more than Darius paid in rent for six months. She looked young,  _ maybe _ twenty-five, but she held herself with the sort of regalness Darius had always envied.

“Hi,” she said with a friendly smile. “Quick question. Are you allergic to dogs?”

“No?” Darius said, not meaning it to sound like a question.

“Oh. Good. Don’t move,” the woman replied, and stepped out of the doorway. Behind her waited the biggest wolf Darius had ever seen. Actually, he was pretty sure it was a direwolf, not some measly timber wolf. It probably weighed as much as he did and if it stood on its hind legs it would easily be seven feet tall.

The woman walked into the room and the wolf followed her, staying at her side like a well-trained pet. Darius couldn’t stop staring at it. Were people even  _ allowed _ to have wolves as a pet? Was that a good idea? He was pretty sure that trying to domesticate an apex predator never ended well.

“This is Fenris,” the woman said, patting the beast on its shoulder. “He lives here at the embassy and he goes pretty much wherever he wants to. Part of our standard interview process is having him meet with and approve candidates. Hold out your hand.”

“Will I get it back?” Darius said without thinking, and then winced. But the woman laughed and patted the wolf’s shoulder again.

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t bite unless you try to attack his family. Just don’t move and don’t try to pet him.”

Darius hesitantly held out one hand, ready to snatch it back if he saw even the faintest gleam of teeth.

The wolf-beast took a couple steps away from the woman, sniffed at Darius’ outstretched fingers, and then returned to the woman’s side, giving her a remarkably intelligent look from its striking green eyes.

The woman smiled. “You have been deemed non-threatening. We may proceed with the interview.”

“Oh. That’s nice,” Darius said faintly. This was by far the strangest interview he had ever had, and that included the one for stage manager of that one heavy metal band.

“Sorry, I’ve forgotten to introduce myself,” the woman said, holding out her hand. “I am Lady Sigyn, of the Sisterhood of the Norns.”

Darius stared at her, ignoring her outstretched hand. Was this real? Was this actual real life? Was he really about to interview for a job with the  _ wife of the alien ambassador _ ? Suddenly the amount of NDAs in the employment packet made sense.

“I think I’m going to pass out,” Darius said, and cringed internally. Oh, god. He’d probably just killed any chance that he had.

The woman frowned, and Darius’ heart sank even further. “Where you not told who you’d be interviewing with?” she asked in a hard voice.

Darius couldn’t bring himself to speak. He just shook his head. The woman pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Fen, remind me to send Tony a  _ very _ nasty email about his sick sense of humor,” Lady Sigyn said with a sigh.

The wolf snorted, almost as if he had understood what she had said.

Lady Sigyn lowered her hand. “I am so sorry, Mr Miller. I was under the impression you had been fully briefed. You see, Tony Stark and my husband have a rather… tumultuous relationship, and this is probably his idea of a joke. I don’t know. Sometimes you can never tell with Tony. Please have a seat and take a moment if you have to.”

Darius glanced down at the sofa behind him. There wasn’t even any dog hair on it. He sat gingerly on the very edge and stared at his hands for several minutes while he got his roiling stomach under control.

“We were looking for a personal assistant for my husband,” Lady Sigyn said, sitting on the couch opposite Darius. The wolf lay on the floor at her feet. “We were a little concerned about attracting the crazies, so we asked Tony for recommendations from his company, since we know what kind of background checks he requires.”

“Oh,” Darius said. He looked up at Lady Sigyn. “Mr Stark recommended me?”

“Well, SI’s HR recommended you,” Lady Sigyn admitted. “You had the exact education, experience, and work ethic we were looking for.”

Darius blinked a couple of times. “Really?” He found that hard to believe.

Lady Sigyn smiled at him. “Yup,” she said. “Not to mention a  _ very _ impressive amount of volunteer hours with non-profit organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and NCTE.”

Darius really  _ really _ hoped he wasn’t blushing. “I see,” he mumbled.

“Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Lady Sigyn asked.

“No, of course not,” Darius said quickly.

“How do you feel about working around children?”

Darius blinked. Before he could reply, Lady Sigyn continued, “We have nine kids between the two of us and they’re a big part of our life. We take them almost everywhere we can. We do have a nanny, so you won’t be expected to work  _ with  _ them, but you will definitely be around them.”

“I don’t have a problem working around children,” Darius said firmly.

Lady Sigyn nodded. “Excellent. Now, I understand you worked in PR for Stark Industries?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Darius said, nodding.

“Okay. Because you are going to have to work with our PR group a little.” Lady Sigyn rolled her eyes. “My husband is breathtakingly intelligent in most things but he really doesn’t have a clue when it comes to humans or any kind of earth culture, which is why we need a human for his personal assistant. I do what I can but you’re going to need to explain earth customs to him when I’m not around.”

“I am… very familiar with earth customs,” Darius said. Her casualness was helping him relax, and it really hadn’t sunk in yet that he was being considered for a position at the very first interplanetary embassy.

“Good to hear,” Sigyn said, beaming at him. “Now, how do you feel about working in a high-stress environment? Things can get pretty crazy around here. It’s very fast-paced. And your boss is the  _ biggest _ drama queen in the Nine Realms. He’s also extremely stubborn and he can make things appear and disappear from thin air. Also he can and will teleport behind people just to scare them.”

“I think high-stress is slightly under exaggerating that a little bit,” Darius said delicately.

Lady Sigyn shrugged. “Eh. Probably. But the pay is fantastic and you’ll get five weeks of vacation a year.”

Darius nodded. “That sounds like a fair trade-off.”

“Well, we wanted the position to be attractive,” Lady Sigyn said with another shrug. “Speaking of which, you will be required to live on-site here at the embassy, which will be rent-free. Is that something you can handle?”

Rent-free in New York City? “Yes, that sounds fine,” Darius said quickly.

“Alright.” Lady Sigyn slapped her hands together and rubbed them. “Why don’t we take a tour of the embassy and you can ask me whatever questions you have because I can practically  _ hear _ them buzzing around your head.” She got to her feet and the wolf did too.

Darius looked at the wolf. He wanted to ask if it went wherever she did, but he didn’t know if that was appropriate. She was, after all, a space princess. Wait,  _ was _ she a princess? She was married to a prince, but she called herself  _ Lady _ Sigyn. He wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ask.

“This way,” Lady Sigyn said cheerfully, beckoning him to follow. “This place is huge. It took me, like, a week to figure out where everything is.”

Darius suddenly realized what had been bothering him about Lady Sigyn. She didn’t  _ sound _ like an alien. She didn’t act like one, either. At the press conference they’d held right after their arrival she had said she had been born on a planet called Nornheim, but if Darius hadn’t known better, he would have assumed she was a human.

“Ask,” Lady Sigyn said as they walked down yet another hallway.

“I beg your pardon?” Darius said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

“You are practically  _ screaming _ whatever question is bugging you right now,” Lady Sigyn told him, giving him a sidelong look from dark blue eyes. “Whatever it is, just ask.”

Darius hesitated for a long time, then tentatively asked, “Have you spent time on earth before now?”

Lady Sigyn laughed again. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “I’ve spent  _ quite _ a bit of time on earth. I actually lived here before I met my husband. And after. We lived here for two years before Loki’s father appointed him as ambassador.”

“Oh,” Darius said. That raised a whole slew of other questions. Did anyone know there were aliens living on earth? Where on earth did they live?  _ Why _ were they living on earth?

Lady Sigyn came to a stop in front of a large set of wooden double doors. “This leads to our personal quarters,” she explained. “Mine, my husband’s, and our children, as well as Sif, our captain of the guard, and Brenna, my handmaiden. No other employee of the embassy may enter this part of the building for  _ any _ reason, or you will be immediately terminated. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Darius said, nodding.

“Around the corner is the communal kitchen. It is fully stocked, and all employees are welcome to use it at any time. You can use anything in the refrigerator, pantry, and cabinets unless it has someone’s name on it, and then it’s just common courtesy not to take it. I would advise staying away from the Asgardian food, though,” Lady Sigyn warned. “Some of it is not digestible by humans and they like  _ way _ more spice on their food than most humans. I’m not talking, like, habanero or sriracha. I’m talking like volcano molten lava levels of spicy. And the alcohol. Don’t try it. There isn’t a word in the English language for how hungover you will feel afterwards. Death is preferable.”

Darius trailed a half step behind Lady Sigyn and soaked up every word. He had a list of questions growing by the second but he was honestly too intimidated to ask them. He kept one eye on the wolf-beast which paced along at Lady Sigyn’s other side, completely ignoring Darius altogether, which he was perfectly fine with.

“Here we have the offices,” Lady Sigyn went on, leading him down another corridor. “Almost no one is here, though. Today is the Remembrance of the Victorious Dead on Asgard, so all our Asgardian staff is back home, except for Sif, who you met, and Brenna. And since the Asgardians are off, we gave the humans the day off, too. Seemed only fair.”

“Of course,” Darius said dutifully.

Lady Sigyn stopped walking and turned to face him. “ _ Please _ ask questions. Your head is  _ incredibly  _ noisy and I already have a headache, so I’m kinda sensitive right now.”

Darius blinked at her rapidly. “Are you… uh… psychic?”

Lady Sigyn laughed. “Only slightly. Don’t worry. I can’t read your  _ actual _ thoughts, just your emotions. Some people are naturally easier to read than others. You, my friend, are an open book.”

Darius blushed again. He had no idea what she was able to pick up from him, but it couldn’t be too bad because she was continuing the interview. “I did have a few questions about the health insurance…” he said.

“Oh, yeah, no,” Lady Sigyn said, waving one hand. “That sort of question needs to go to our lawyer when you sign all the paperwork. Any kind of small print, salary negotiation, benefits, anything like that needs to wait for him. I have no idea how any of that works. I did not go to college for that.”

“You went to college?” Darius blurted, surprised.

“Poli Sci at Culver. Almost graduated, too,” Lady Sigyn said brightly.

“What happened?” Darius asked, curious. 

“I almost died,” Lady Sigyn replied, her demeanor darkening slightly. “ _ Any _ way. Living quarters are in the top three floors. Second floor is conference rooms, security office, armory, and server room for ETTA.”

“Etta?” Darius echoed.

“She’s our AI,” Lady Sigyn explained. “Tony Stark designed her for us. Didn’t tell us what ETTA stands for, but apparently it’s hilarious. Moving on. We should head down into the basement. Loki is working in his lab at the moment. He didn’t want to be bothered until you passed the initial tests.”

“I passed?” Darius asked.

“We wouldn’t still be talking if you hadn’t,” Lady Sigyn assured him. “Come on.”

Darius followed her and the wolf-beast to a set of fire doors at the end of the hallway. “We do have elevators, but Loki doesn’t like them, so the only way to his lab is by these stairs and a flight in our private quarters,” Lady Sigyn told him. “ _ Most _ of the time the lab is safe, but if there is a sign on the door, make sure you read it.”

“What kind of lab is it?” Darius asked.

“Whatever strikes his fancy,” Lady Sigyn said with a shrug. “He’s a multi-discipline scientist. Anything from astrophysics to mechanical engineering to chemistry. And also magic.”

“I’m sorry, did you say  _ magic _ ?” Darius asked.

“Uh-huh,” Lady Sigyn replied. “Technically it’s not really  _ magic _ . It’s the ability to manipulate energy and transform it from one form to another.  _ Most _ humans haven’t evolved that power yet, at least, not without outside interference. Not even all Asgardians have it. The only Asgardian sorcerers I know of are Loki, his mother, and his father.”

“Not Thor?” Darius asked as they descended the stairs.

“Yes and no,” Lady Sigyn said, shaking her head. “He has certain, very narrow abilities. Certainly not as varied as Loki or their mother.” She snapped her fingers. “Before you ask, so far only one of the kids is known to have inherited Loki’s magic. Six of the others are adopted and are human, one definitely did not, and the youngest is still an infant, but probably will.”

“I actually wasn’t going to ask that,” Darius said.

Lady Sigyn shrugged. “You were eventually. Ah, here we are.” At the bottom of the stairs was another fire door, which Lady Sigyn pushed through. There was a small foyer on the other side with a decontamination shower and a sterile plastic container full of hazmat suits.

“Don’t worry about those,” Darcy said, waving a hand at the decontamination shower. “OSHA requires those for all labs but Loki rarely has lab accidents. A lot less than  _ Stark _ does.”

“Oh, okay,” Darius said uncertainly.

Lady Sigyn pushed open the heavy doors at the other end of the foyer and stepped into the room. It was not what Darius expected.

The lab was expansive, with several tables and workbenches pushed against the walls. At one end there were racks of shelves full of jars, boxes, and strange metal shapes. There were windows in the walls that let in beams of sunlight, and looked out onto a city that was definitely  _ not _ Manhattan.

In the center of the lab was a large, egg-shaped device that was floating three feet off the ground. It was coated with gold-colored metal and had a panel in the front missing, revealing a complex network of crystals and silver wire.

A pair of black-clad legs stuck out from underneath the device, and there was a tapping sound alternating with a faint ringing like a tiny silver bell. Lady Sigyn leaned over and rapped her knuckles on the shell of the device. “Hey,  _ angan _ . We’ve got company.”

Prince Loki, the Asgardian Ambassador to earth, wriggled out from underneath the device and sat up. Darius noticed three things about him all at once. Firstly, the ambassador looked  _ a lot _ younger up close. Second, he had  _ really _ intense green eyes. Third, he was wearing a black t-shirt that said “The credible Hulk backs all his statements with reliable sources” and had a cartoon of the Hulk wearing glasses.

“So I take it he passed, then?” asked the ambassador in an accent that sounded vaguely British.

“He did indeed,” Lady Sigyn replied.

“Hmm,” the ambassador said, rising to his feet. He wiped his hands on his pants and held his right hand out to Darius. “Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Miller.”

“It’s an honor, sir,” Darius managed to say without stuttering as he shook the ambassador’s hand. “Thank you for considering me.”

“Well, you  _ were _ our only candidate,” the ambassador said breezily, giving Darius’ hand a firm but brief shake. 

“I… was?” Darius asked, glancing between the ambassador and his wife. Lady Sigyn shrugged.

“I had a good vibe about you,” she said with a mysterious smile. She looked around suddenly, her expression concerned. “Babe, where is Hela?”

“Hiding in the stacks,” the ambassador said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb.

“Why is she hiding?” Lady Sigyn asked suspiciously.

“Because she broke a critical component of my nullifier and she is too embarrassed to admit she doesn’t know how to make a new one,” the ambassador said casually.

Lady Sigyn looked from her husband to the storage shelves and back. “Has she not asked for help?”

“No, she has not,” the ambassador replied.

Lady Sigyn sighed. “As if I need a new reason to resent Skuld,” she said. “Hela! Come here, please!”

A teenaged girl poked her head out from the end of one of the shelves. She had very pale skin and very dark hair. Her eyes, Darius was startled to notice, were completely, solidly black. “Yes, Stepmother?” she asked in a hesitant voice.

“Come here, please,” Lady Sigyn said firmly.

The teenager shuffled out into the open and walked reluctantly over to stand on the other side of the device the ambassador had been working on. She stared at the ground at Lady Sigyn’s feet. Neither Lady Sigyn nor the ambassador looked old enough to have a teenaged daughter, even if she called Lady Sigyn “Stepmother.”

“Why haven’t you asked for help if you needed it?” Lady Sigyn asked in a gentle voice.

The girl--Hela, presumably--glowered harder at the ground. “I am capable of machining a simple mechanical component, Stepmother,” she muttered.

“Perhaps, but there is nothing wrong with asking for help if you need it, you know that, right?” Lady Sigyn continued in the same gentle voice.

Hela scowled harder and said nothing, but jerked her head in a nod. Lady Sigyn reached out and patted the girl’s shoulder. The girl flinched but didn’t pull away. “Things are different now, Hela,” Lady Sigyn told her. “Whatever Skuld did, we’re not doing that here. Okay?”

“Yes, Stepmother,” Hela said dutifully. She heaved a deep sigh and turned to scowl at the floor in front of the ambassador’s feet. “I require assistance, Father.”

“Very well,” the ambassador said in a mild tone. “If you wait one moment, I will be happy to help you.”

Hela slunk over to one of the workbenches and began fiddling with the tools there. Lady Sigyn turned to Darius. “Sorry about that. Family stuff. Did you have any questions for Loki?”

“Uh, yes,” Darius said. “What, exactly are going to be the scope of my duties? What are my hours going to be like? Will I have days off? I don’t have any experience in political science. Is that going to be an issue?”

The ambassador smiled thinkly. “I need someone who can keep a schedule for me, arrange for meetings, meals, venues, press conferences and the like. Someone who can explain human customs should my wife not be present. Someone to make phone calls for me. I despise making phone calls and unfortunately your entire planet relies heavily on the use of mobile phones.”

“He hates texting, too,” Lady Sigyn cut in. “He barely tolerates video chat.”

“How do people communicate on Asgard?” Darius asked. Both the ambassador’s and Lady Sigyn’s demeanor had done a great deal to put him at his ease, and he was finding it easier to ask questions.

“These,” Lady Sigyn said, turning her head to the side and pointing to a small golden circle embedded behind her right ear. “It’s called a communer. It’s sort of a mental radio that lets you connect, or commune, with anyone else that has one. They work anywhere, on any planet, but both you and the person you’re calling have to be on the same planet.”

“That is… really cool,” Darius said, impressed.

“As I was saying,” the ambassador said, giving his wife a fondly exasperated look. “Political experience is not a requirement for the job. You will be liaising with our public relations team on a regular basis, however, so your experience there will be valuable. As for your other questions, I am told that the standard amount of working hours in a week here in America is forty, and anything over that is called overtime,” He looked over at his wife for confirmation, and she nodded. “You may work as much or as little overtime as you would like, and you will be appropriately compensated. I have also been informed that humans require two days off per week, so you will be entitled to those, however I am not sure which days those will be at this moment. They may not be the same per week, depending on what I require.”

“That is understandable,” Darius said, nodding. He had come through the shock and was in a sort of numbness. He still couldn’t believe that he had been the only candidate for the personal assistant of the first alien ambassador to earth. He was pretty sure he was dreaming and was going to wake up any minute and realize he was late for work.

“There’s one more thing,” Lady Sigyn said, raising her hand slightly. “You are going to be required to learn how to read and write Ancient Norse.”

Darius stared at her for a few seconds. “I...see?” he said in a squeaky voice.

“Loki isn’t very comfortable with reading and writing English or pretty much any other earth language, so his notes are all going to be in Ancient Norse, which is what they speak on Asgard,” Lady Sigyn explained. “Also you may be required to read things to him if they’re in English. And operate computers on his behalf. Basically earth technology is so outdated for Asgardians it’s like a modern college student trying to figure out how to use a printing press or something.”

“ _ Thank _ you,  _ elskede _ ,” the ambassador said, his expression more exasperated than fond. “I am perfectly capable of revealing my own shortcomings.”

Lady Sigyn gave him a withering look. “Shortcomings  _ nothing _ , babe. Don’t apologize because you come from a race of super-advanced people and humans are still in the process of discovering fire.”

“I thought you hated it when I did that,” the ambassador said.

“No, I hate it when you’re a snob about it,” Lady Sigyn corrected. “Hela is getting bored, so we’d better go and let you keep working.”

“Very well,” the ambassador said, leaning over to kiss his wife on the forehead. “I will see you shortly.”

“Don’t blow anything up,” Lady Sigyn warned, and beckoned for Darius to follow as she left. “Right. So. Any other questions?”

“Uh, yes,” Darius said. “Don’t embassies usually have a lobby or something where people apply for visas?”

Lady Sigyn chuckled. “We have a lobby, yes, but Asgard is not issuing any visas right now. Asgard is currently in the middle of a transition of power, and the whole realm is closed to any outside visitors. Once the transition is complete we’ll open negotiations with the UN to allow carefully selected humans into Asgard for educational or political reasons. Asgard has no desire to become a tourist destination.”

“Well, it’s not like we have any way of getting to Asgard,” Darius pointed out. “Asgard can very easily control who visits Asgard since they have the only way of getting there.”

Lady Sigyn smiled at him. “Precisely. Now, our HR team is off today like everyone else, but our lawyer has graciously agreed to come over and handle your intake.”

“Wait, that’s it?” Darius blurted. “Isn’t there… I don’t know… a background check? Psych eval?”

“SI already did your background check and I did your psych eval when I walked in the room with you,” Lady Sigyn told him with a sly smile. She pointed to her temple. “Mad norn skills.”

“Oh,” Darius said weakly.

“I just have one more question for you,” Lady Sigyn said.

“Yes?” Darius asked.

“When can you start?”

Darius took a deep breath. “Tomorrow. I can definitely start tomorrow.”


	28. Now I'm Smiling From The Stage While You're Clapping From The Nosebleeds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Hope your Christmas was peaceful and merry. This was my first Christmas with my girlfriend and I met her extended family for the first time. It was really fun and not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. Now if only her meeting my family will go just as well...

There were some distinct drawbacks to being promoted to a leadership position solely because everyone above you had been gruesomely murdered. Namely, the complete lack of experience. It was one thing to _call_ yourself the Sorcerer Supreme, and a completely different thing to actually _be_ the Sorcerer Supreme. It involved far more administrative work than Stephen had ever anticipated, even with as much as he delegated.

Wong was doing just fine on his own in Kamar-Taj, and so were the new masters of the Sanctums in London and Hong Kong. There were a few grumblings about the Sorcerer Supreme setting up shop at the New York Sanctum, but Stephen was very good at ignoring people.

He had his nose buried in a book he’d been painfully translating from Sanskrit when one of his assistants knocked timidly on the frame of the open door. He glanced up, initially annoyed, and then stopped himself, taking a deep breath. The young woman seemed to sense his irritation at being interrupted however, and flinched when he made eye contact.

Stephen sighed. “Yes?” he asked in a mild voice.

The young woman--Ankita, he believed--refused to raise her eyes above the ground again. “There is a woman here to see you, sir,” she said in a heavy Hindi accent.

Stephen frowned. He didn’t recall making an appointment with anyone today. “Who is she?” he demanded.

“She did not give a name, sir,” Ankita said softly, still staring fixedly at the floor.

“Is she from one of the Sanctums?” Stephen pressed.

“No, sir,” Ankita whispered. “She came in from the street.”

That made Stephen frown even harder. The average citizen of New York City shouldn’t even be aware the Sanctum even existed. The wards and spells on the building meant that people would walk right by without ever looking up. They didn’t even get mail. So someone who walked in from the street was either very, very special, or very, very dangerous.

“Where is she?” Stephen asked, rising to his feet.

“In the foyer, sir,” Ankita said.

“Thank you, Ankita,” Stephen said, sighing internally and making a mental note to spend some one-on-one time with the young woman to work on her confidence. “Please return to your studies.”

“Yes, sir,” Ankita murmured, and scurried away.

It was one of the more intimidating part of his job, to train younger and newer sorcerers. He didn’t particularly enjoy it, as he was still learning himself. He’d been appointed Sorcerer Supreme on the merits of his _potential_ , not on his ability, and he was concerned that one of these days soon that particular hen was going to come home to roost, or however that saying went.

He retrieved his gloves from the desk and tugged them on as he strode out of the office. When he passed the coat rack, the Cloak of Levitation detached itself and draped over his shoulders, settling into place with the ease of long practice.

Stephen had to pass two of the main classrooms on his way to the grand staircase, and he stopped to poke his head into both. With so many of the experienced sorcerers having been killed by Kaecilius and his followers, the ones left spent most of their time travelling between the Sanctums to teach the new novices.

Satisfied that classes were going smoothly, Stephen continued to the grand staircase and paused at the top. In the foyer below him waited a woman. Young, if appearances could be believed, mid-twenties at the most. She was dressed quite smartly in a white skirt suit and a purple blouse, her hair pinned up in an intricate style. She did not carry a purse or a clutch, which Stephen immediately thought was suspect, because no woman who spent that much money on a suit would _not_ carry at least a clutch.

Sitting on the floor beside the woman was the largest canine Stephen had seen to date. It was roughly the size of a small bear, and very closely resembled a wolf. It turned to peer curiously up at Stephen and he noted it had eyes a strange shade of green.

Stephen knew that he cut a rather impressive figure coming down the stairs, with the Cloak billowing obligingly. The woman raised one dark eyebrow as she watched him descend. Otherwise her expression didn’t change.

As he approached her, he noted other things about her, like the matching necklace and earring set was deceptively expensive, and that ouroboros bracelet on her right wrist was handmade. He also noticed that the chopsticks holding her hair up were needle-sharp and could easily double as weapons.

“I’m Dr Stephen Strange, the master of this Sanctum,” Stephen introduced himself brusquely. “And you are?”

The woman offered her hand with a smile curling her lips. “Lady Sigyn of the Sisterhood of the Norns, Mother of the Ways and Host of Ragnarok. How do you do?”

Stephen recovered enough to actually take her hand. She grasped his firmly, but briefly, and let go as soon as was politely acceptable. He continued to stare at her for a heartbeat or two more.

What in the name of the arcane arts was the wife of the Asgardian Ambassador doing _here_? How had she even found the place? And what the hell was a mother of the ways or the host of Ragnarok?

“How can I help you, Lady Sigyn?” Stephen asked, keeping his voice polite.

Lady Sigyn reached out almost instinctively, resting her hand on the shoulder of the giant wolf-beast-dog-thing. It blinked slowly and tilted its head, still staring curiously at Stephen.

“Well, I have just established an embassy in this city with my husband, and I am making a point to reach out to those with… power,” Lady Sigyn said with that same mysterious smile. “Especially when there is an Infinity Stone involved.”

Stephen just barely managed to keep his expression blank. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Please, Dr Strange, let’s not insult each other,” Lady Sigyn said, her smile fading. “You and I both know that this is a Sanctum Sanctorum and that there is a portal to Kamar-Taj in this building, where an Infinity Stone is being housed.”

Stephen considered the woman for a moment. “Yes, but that begs the question as to how _you_ know that,” he said.

“I’m a norn,” Lady Sigyn replied, as if that explained everything.

Stephen sighed internally. “Why don’t we continue this conversation in my office? Would you care for some tea?”

“I would love some tea,” Lady Sigyn said.

Stephen gallantly offered the woman his arm, which she accepted gracefully. When they began to ascend the stairs, the wolf-dog thing fell into step on Lady Sigyn’s other side.

“That is a very interesting dog,” Stephen commented. “What breed is he?”

“Canis lupus,” Lady Sigyn replied with that mysterious smile.

Stephen startled before catching himself. “A wolf?” he asked, eying the beast warily. “I had no idea they got that big.”

“They don’t,” Lady Sigyn said. “On earth, anyway.”

“I see,” Stephen said quietly. Neither of them spoke again until they reached his office, and he poured two cups of tea. “Now, Lady Sigyn, what _precisely_ can I do for you?”

“Are you aware of who and what the norns are?” Lady Sigyn asked, teacup in one hand and the other resting on the wolf’s shoulder.

“I can’t say that I am,” Stephen said, ignoring his own teacup on the desk in front of him.

“The norns are a sisterhood dedicated to the enforcement of fate, administration of justice, and preservation of knowledge,” Lady Sigyn explained. “We are immortal and eternal, and we also act as protectors and guardians of the universe.”

“Protectors?” Stephen echoed. “You don’t seem to be doing a very good job at the moment.”

Lady Sigyn raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know. You humans seem to be doing a pretty good job taking care of yourselves.”

Stephen fell silent for a moment. “Why hasn’t anyone heard about you on earth before, then?”

“We haven’t been needed on earth for awhile now,” Lady Sigyn replied. “The last time the universe at large paid any attention to this planet was over a thousand and a half years ago. But I was personally present during the attack on New York, and again in London, as well as involved in tracking down and eradicating the remnants of Hydra.” She gave Stephen a pointed look as she sipped from her teacup. She put the cup down on the desk.

“As for your encounter with Dormammu, I apologize that I wasn’t able to assist with that. During that time I was actually in an alternate timeline trying to apprehend a dangerous criminal.”

Stephen’s interest perked up at that. “Alternate timeline? Really? How did you manage to cross into another reality?”

“Trade secret,” Lady Sigyn said, stroking the wolf’s neck. “I do, however, try to make an effort to ensure the security of the Infinity Stones. I’ve already removed two from earth for your people’s safety and I need to determine whether or not the Time Stone needs to removed as well.”

Stephen bristled. “What makes you think you have the right to ‘remove’ the Stone from earth?” he snapped.

Lady Sigyn gave him a flat stare with a sort of power behind it he had only ever seen the Ancient One achieve. “What makes you think you have the right to possess it?” she asked.

“The Eye of Agamotto has been protected by Kamar-taj for hundreds of years,” Stephen informed her stiffly.

“The Time Stone doesn’t belong to earth,” Lady Sigyn said mildly, still stroking the thick fur ruff around the wolf’s neck. “The Stones are dangerous. They don’t belong anywhere, and they shouldn’t be used lightly.”

“It _wasn’t_ used lightly,” Stephen said tightly. “At the time I was trying to save the _planet_.”

“I understand that,” Lady Sigyn said, nodding. “Which is why I’m speaking with you and not in Kamar-taj removing the Stone.”

“The Eye of Agamotto is being guarded in the most magically secure location on earth by the most powerful sorcerers on earth,” Stephen pointed out. “I think you would have a hard time _removing_ it.”

“ _From_ earth,” Lady Sigyn said.

Stephen blinked at her. “I beg your pardon?”

“Most powerful sorcerers _from_ earth,” Lady Sigyn corrected. “Not _on_ earth.” She tilted her head to one side.

Stephen narrowed his eyes, trying to determine if that was a threat or not.

“I’m not threatening you,” Lady Sigyn said, as if she could read Stephen’s mind. “I am attempting to determine if you are an adequate guardian for the Time Stone. To be honest, I’m running out of safe places to keep the Stones. I’ve already got three in the the treasure room on Asgard, and I don’t like having that many in one place.”

Stephen leaned back in his chair and steepled his gloved fingers. For a long, silent moment he studied the woman sitting across from him. She stared evenly back. “Well?” he asked sarcastically. “What is your assessment?”

“You really want to know?” she challenged.

“Now you’ve made me curious,” Stephen said.

Lady Sigyn leaned forward. “You haven’t been using your powers long. Only a little over three years. You’re intimidated by your position of leadership but you feel you have an image and reputation to keep up. You are still rather arrogant despite certainly coming a long way and you hate asking for help in any way.”

“Oh, is that all?” Stephen asked, his tone arid. “Well if that is your final assess-”

“ _However_ ,” Lady Sigyn interrupted. “Your desire to protect the innocent is stronger than your pride and you fully intend to use every power at your disposal to keep anyone like Dormammu from threatening your planet again, regardless of the cost.”

Stephen blinked at her again. “I see,” he said softly.

Lady Sigyn rose to her feet and held out a white business card he did not see her retrieve from anywhere. “I think you are a more than adequate guardian for the Time Stone for the moment, Dr Strange. I hope to be able to consider you an ally in the protection of this planet.”

Stephen rose to his feet and took the card carefully. Her name, and address in Manhattan, and a phone number were printed in neat, purple letters. “Why do you care what happens to this planet?” he asked.

Lady Sigyn smiled warmly. “This realm has been my home for a very, very long time, Dr Strange. I would like for it to remain that way for the time being. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll see myself out.”

With that she swept regally out of the office, the wolf still at her side.

Stephen stood in his now-empty office for a moment longer, staring down at the business card in his hand. Well, _that_ certainly had been interesting.

XxxXxxX

Christine Everhart had worked hard for where she was now. After leaving her position with Vanity Fair, she had fought tooth and claw among the other freelance journalists for every story she had sold to the major news networks. She’d had to be twice as smart, twice as determined, and twice as stubborn as any one of the male freelance journalists she competed with. But it was like her mother always said; women had to work twice as hard to be thought of as half as good.

But she’d gotten there, and she was nowhere near finished. She’d entered the bid for this interview fully intending to win, and here she was, sitting on the soundstage, watching the clock count down until they went live.

The sound stage was buzzing with activity, everyone running here and there trying to get everything ready on time. Christine had finished with hair and makeup ten minutes early, and was reviewing the list of questions that had been approved by the ambassador’s PR team. She’d be going off-script, of course, because no good journalism came from following the rules, but it was good to know what lines she’d be crossing.

She hadn’t seen either the ambassador or his wife yet, but she had spoken briefly to the ambassador’s personal assistant, who had checked to make sure she had the list of questions and had signed the liability forms.

Christine had never had to sign liability forms for a sound stage interview before, but apparently she was required to take responsibility for her own safety in case of a “hostile event” and was not permitted to sue the embassy or any staff of the embassy for injuries sustained during such an event. She was also required to sign a form stating she would not take any photos or recordings of the ambassador, his wife, or any of his staff other than the agreed-upon interview.

She really thought it was all a bit ridiculous. The security on the sound stage was extremely tight. Christine had had to submit to a weapons check by an Asgardian security officer wearing actual armor, and then another check performed by an enormous beast of a dog. The dog was actually still wandering free in the sound stage, given a wide berth by the film crew.

The ambassador’s PA appeared on the sound stage again, a phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear and his arms full of a tablet, two water bottles, and a fruit basket. “Sorry, Angela, I don’t know. The delegate hasn’t gotten back with me yet. I’ve tried calling his office six times in the last two days,” he was saying as he walked by.

He stopped and freed one hand so he could hold the phone. “Yeah, that might work. Sif is pretty intimidating. She can probably wrangle an answer out of him. The boss really wants to meet personally with the delegate before he heads over there. Yeah, that’ll work. I’ll bring it up after the interview. Yes, I’ll keep my phone on. Please don’t text me about Lady Sigyn’s makeup again. _Yes,_ Angela. _Thank_ you.”

The PA, whose name Christine had never gotten, sighed and shoved the phone back in his pocket before continuing on to the green room.

Christine checked the countdown clock. Less than five minutes. They were broadcasting live over several major news networks. It would be Christine’s biggest break, including her pieces on Tony Stark and her exposé on Justin Hammer. She had to get this perfect.

At two minutes until broadcast, the ambassador’s PA returned with the ambassador and his wife in tow. Christine rose to her feet eagerly. The ambassador was every bit as attractive in person as he was on TV, and quite a bit taller than she expected. He was dressed in Asgardian clothing, all green and gold and black. He was not wearing the gold crown with the horns, to Christine’s disappointment.

His wife, on the other hand, was much shorter than Christine had expected. She was wearing a gorgeous Asgardian dress, also in green and gold, and she had a golden band in her hair. When they approached the soundstage, Christine went to greet them.

“Prince Loki, Princess Sigyn, hello. I’m Christine Everhart. It’s an honor to finally meet you,” she said with her best smile. She’d been warned not to try to shake hands with either, so she kept her hands clasped in front of her.

“Thank you,” the ambassador said demurely. “However, my wife’s title is ‘Lady,’ not ‘Princess.’”

“Oh,” Christine said, caught off guard. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”

“Yes, you see, on Asgard, we always use the title holding the higher authority,” the ambassador explained politely. “And Sigyn’s position as a norn has much greater prestige than a princess. In fact,” the ambassador said with a fond smile, looking down at the woman at his side. “She far outranks me.”

“Don’t do that,” Lady Sigyn said with a frown. “You know I’m already nervous enough.”

The ambassador leaned down towards her and whispered something that Christine didn’t catch. But whatever he said cleared Lady Sigyn’s expression and she shook her head with a faint smile.

“Please, won’t you both please have a seat,” Christine invited. “We’re about to begin.”

The couple settled onto the couch, the ambassador’s hand resting on his wife’s thigh. Lady Sigyn slid her hand under his and interlaced their fingers. Despite her statement, she didn’t look outwardly nervous, though she did have a slight glazed look in her eye.

The countdown reached zero and Christine faced the camera, her brilliant smile pasted on. “Hello, and welcome,” she said. “I’m Christine Everhart and I am here with the ambassador from Asgard, Prince Loki, and his wife, Lady Sigyn, in their first ever television interview.” She turned to the two aliens. “Thank you so much for being here. It’s a great honor.”

Prince Loki inclined his head slightly. Lady Sigyn did not respond.

Christine kept smiling and glanced down at the notes in her hand. “Why don’t we get started? You established the Asgardian Embassy about two months ago. What are your first thought about living on earth?”

Lady Sigyn found that amusing for some reason, because she chuckled quietly and bumped her shoulder into Prince Loki’s. He glanced down at her, a smile curling his thin mouth.

“Well, I personally have been living on earth for over two years now,” Prince Loki said. “And Sigyn has been here significantly longer.”

Christine was professional enough not to let her surprise show on her face. “Oh? How long, exactly?”

Lady Sigyn smiled lopsidedly. “About fifteen hundred years, give or take a decade,” she replied.

Christine blinked. She knew, like everyone knew, that the Asgardians were longer-lived than humans, that Thor and Loki were _the_ Thor and Loki of Norse myth, but to hear it said out loud like this was something else.

“What have you been doing on earth for that time?” Christine demanded.

Lady Sigyn’s expression did not change. “You know. Norn things,” she said mysteriously.

Christine glanced again at her notes and then realized this interview was probably not going to go anything like what she had planned. She looked back up. “So you’ve been witness to some pretty significant parts of our history,” she said, focusing on Lady Sigyn. “Objectively, how would you say we compare to other planets you’ve visited?”

Lady Sigyn raised her eyebrows and glanced at her husband, aware that Christine was now going obviously off-script.

“Earth is a very young planet,” she said softly, looking back at Christine. “Maybe not in years it has existed, but in terms of higher life forms. Humans, modern humans, anyway, have only been around for roughly 200,000 years. Asgard, for instance, can trace its current royal line back over 45 generations, with an average life span of 5-7 thousand years, you’re looking at anywhere from 225,000 to 315,000 years. And that’s just the _current_ royal line. Thor and Loki’s ancestors conquered Asgard and the Nine Realms by warring with the previous dynasty, which stretches back even further. Some societies on some planets have existed for _millions_ of years, not just thousands.”

She shrugged. “So yes, I would have to say earth is very, very young.”

“So basically what you're saying is that we’re still going through growing pains?” Christine pressed.

Lady Sigyn narrowed her eyes at Christine. “I’m saying that earth has a long way to go before it can compare itself to a lot of other planets out there,” she said evasively.

Christine knew she had a limited amount of time, so she decided to move on. Maybe she would circle back to that topic later. “Prince Loki, we’ve recently had the State Department issue statements saying they don’t feel you are qualified to act as a representative to the UN. What do you have to say about that?”

“What information are those statements based on?” Prince Loki asked, tilting his head to the side. “What cause do they have to doubt my qualifications?”

“Both you and your brother have fought side-by-side with the Avengers on several occasions,” Christine explained. “People take that to mean that Asgard is a war-like society if important political figures such as yourselves are willing to place yourselves at the front lines. And they want to know why we are allowing a war-like society such as yours to be part of the UN, which was formed for the promotion of peace.”

Prince Loki tilted his head again, one eyebrow arching upwards. “War-like society?” he echoed.

Lady Sigyn held a hand over her mouth and muttered, “Here we go.”

“Asgard has maintained and enforced peace between the Nine Realms for over a thousand years,” Prince Loki said, sounding indignant. “These detractors are passing judgement on Asgard solely on the fact that my brother and I, the sons of the kings, choose to fight alongside of the Avengers?”

Prince Loki leaned forward, brows drawing together. “If any of the Nine Realms should require the assistance of Asgard, it would Thor and I that would answer the call, not the Einherjar. If you were asking for the assistance of another realm, would you not wish for their greatest warriors?”

“But if you were trained for war, what qualifies you to negotiate for peace?” Christine asked, sitting on the edge of her chair. This was it, this was real deal. This was what she had fought to win this interview for.

Prince Loki gave her a disdainful look. “On earth, your presidents and kings and prime ministers lead from conference rooms and the safety of their offices. On Asgard, we ride ahead of our armies into battle and shed the first blood. We are trained for combat from the time we take our first steps. But we are also trained to be _kings_. I have been acting as a representative of Asgard to other realms since childhood, and I have served as a negotiator for far longer than this country has even existed.”

Christine caught sight of the commercial warning and nodded. “Thank you for that eloquent answer, Prince Loki. Stay with us, we’ll be right back.”

XxxXxxX

“...Arrogance and air of superiority, as if he is always looking down on lesser species like us,” Darcy finished reading the article and looked up across the room. “See what I mean?”

Heimdall nodded gravely. He was standing at the edge of the open Bifrost chamber, looking out at the stars. Darcy was seated by the empty socket on the dais in a very comfortable chair Heimdall had had waiting for her.

“They’re watching us, _wanting_ us to screw up,” Darcy complained, folding the magazine in half and stuffing it down the side of the chair. “You would think people would be like, ‘holy shit! Aliens! That’s so cool!’”

Heimdall turned to face her, a skeptical expression on his face. “They _are_ your people. Are you truly surprised?”

“No,” Darcy said sullenly. “I just wish I didn’t feel like I have to perform perfectly every time I step outside the embassy. It’s really freaking stressful.”

“Such is the burden of authority,” Heimdall reminded her. “You carry a heavy burden, Darcy. You cannot afford to make a mistake, any more than I could in my duty.”

“I know,” Darcy said with deep sigh. “I just hate it.”

“If one carries a responsibility for a great amount of time, it is possible to come to resent it,” Heimdall said, nodding again.

Darcy rubbed her hand down her face, and only remembered afterward to check to see if she was wearing makeup. She wasn’t, to her relief. “Do you?” she asked. She gestured vaguely to the Bifrost around them. “You ever wish you could just pack it up and be all, ‘peace out, bitches, I’m going on vaca?’”

“I do,” Heimdall surprised her by saying. “Many times over the years have I wished to pass on my duties to another. But I have not.”

“Why?” Darcy asked.

“Because there is no other who can see what I see,” Heimdall told her with a sad smile. “Until there is born in Asgard a child who has the same sight, I will remain at my post.”

Darcy rested her chin on her hand. “Did you ever consider, you know, _helping_ that along?”

“How do you mean?” Heimdall asked.

Darcy gestured again. “You know,” she repeated. “I’m sure your gift could be passed on genetically. You’re a good-looking dude. Any Asgardian would be lucky to have you.”

Heimdall chuckled in his low, melodic voice. “Who says I have not?”

Darcy straightened. “ _What?_ ” she demanded. “You have a family and I never knew?”

Heimdall laughed at her again. “Dearest friend, you are the _fóstra_ of my son.”

Darcy stared at him, eyes wide. “I _am_?”

“His name is Rig,” Heimdall told her. “He lives on Vanaheim with his mother, Vora.”

“How did I not know this?” Darcy complained, glaring up at him.

“You have been awakened in this vessel for less than five years, my friend,” Heimdall reminded her. “I am sure there are many things you have yet to remember.”

“Yeah, but you could have _told_ me,” Darcy muttered, crossing her arms.

“You have many other things to concern yourself with other than my personal life, _meyla_ ,” Heimdall told her gently.

Darcy sighed again. “How often do you get to see him?”

“My wife and son travel to Asgard every sixteenth day,” Heimdall said.

“And he didn’t inherit your sight?” Darcy asked.

“He did not,” Heimdall said, though with a fond expression on his face. “He took after his mother. She sees the future in her dreams, sometimes. Rig has the same dreams.”

“I’d like to meet them,” Darcy relaxed back in her chair. “How old is Rig?”

“He is grown, now,” Heimdall said. “Nearly to his majority. The Allfather promised him a place in the court here. I believe Thor intends to uphold that promise.”

“I’m sure he will,” Darcy agreed. “Someone who can see the future will probably come in handy.”

Heimdall grunted and walked toward the dais. He stopped at the first step, but still towered over Darcy. “You did not come here to discuss my family, Darcy,” he reminded her. “Tell me the rest of your troubles.”

Darcy rubbed her nose. “You know, we have a very uneven relationship. I show up here whenever I need to vent, dump all my shit on you, and then bail. What do you get out of this?”

“The knowledge that I help ease the burdens of the Mother of the Ways and the Host of Ragnarok, and that the end of the universe as we know it is delayed yet another little while,” Heimdall told her with a gentle smile.”

Darcy squinted up at him. “Your wife is a very, _very_ lucky woman,” she said.

Heimdall nodded in agreement. “She is.”

XxxXxxX

Darcy had an AI who was specifically programmed to be her personal assistant, and she was _still_ running late. She’d had a meeting with the CEO’s of various charities she and Loki were considering publicly supporting, and it had gone over by nearly forty-five minutes because one CEO had made a snide comment about Darcy being subservient to her husband and just like that Darcy had decided that there was no way in hell Asgard would ever be associated with Disabled Police Officers of America. Which she then had to explain to the chauvinist CEO for half an hour.

Darcy reached up to tap her invisible earpiece. “ETTA, put together a list of the highest-rated charities for disabled former first-responders and send an email to their CEO offices requesting a meeting, then see if you can set up something next month. Oh, and send flowers to the PA of the CEO of Disabled Police Officers of America with a note that says: I’m sorry for what you have to put up with. Make it anonymous.”

“Right away, Lady Sigyn,” ETTA replied with her pleasant voice. Like her predecessor, she had a crisp British accent and a dry sense of humor. Given that JARVIS had been instrumental in her programing, that wasn’t much of a surprise. Apparently the two AI’s kept in daily contact, and Tony had complained that JARVIS had developed a crush.

Darcy went to rub her eyes and remembered at the last minute that she was wearing eyeshadow. She sighed, frustrated, and looked out the window of the car. Her phone vibrated in her hand and she looked down. It was a message from Steve.

_dinner wed still on?_

_mos def_ , Darcy texted back. _just got more mead from A. prep 2 b turnt._

 _yeah, right,_ Steve replied.

Darcy smiled briefly and looked up again. They had just reached the gates to the embassy. When the car came to a stop, Darcy opened the door herself. “Thank you, Charles,” she told the driver as she got out and headed toward the door.

“Lady Sigyn, your four fifteen appointment is waiting for you,” ETTA announced in Darcy’s ear.

“Thank you,” Darcy replied, waving at the Einherjar who opened the door for her. The office area of the embassy was busy today, and the staff greeted her cheerfully as she passed. She had a smile for each of them, even as disgruntled as she felt from her meeting.

She entered her office from the back door so she didn’t have to walk through the waiting room. She set her phone on the desk and summoned her tablet, putting that on the desk as well. “ETTA, who is my four fifteen, anyway?”

“She is the reporter from the _Daily Bulletin_ ,” ETTA responded helpfully. “Mr. Nelson requested the interview on her behalf.”

“Right,” Darcy said, nodding. “Foggy’s friend who wanted to do the cultural piece. Got it.” She headed toward the front door to her office. As she opened it, she fixed a smile on her face.

“I’m so sorry for running late,” she began as she stepped into the waiting area. When she caught sight of the blonde woman just now rising to her feet, however, she came to a complete halt. For several seconds they stared at each other, wide-eyed.

“ _Darcy_?” the blonde woman demanded.

“Karen?” Darcy said weakly. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I-- What are _you_ doing here?” Karen Page asked irately. “Do you work here or something?”

“No…” Darcy said slowly. “I’m, well, I’m Lady Sigyn.”

Karen stared at her flatly for another few seconds. “You have _got_ to be shitting me.”


	29. I'm Just A Symbol To Remind You That There's More To See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know, it's been forever and a day since I've updated this. If you are also reading A Profound Silene, then you know that I've recently lost a close family member, I am in the process of moving in with my fiancee, and I'm trying to plan our wedding, so things have been a bit crazy around here. However, seeing Avengers: Infinity War has definitely motivated me to try to start writing again, mostly just to recover from my heart being crushed into tiny, tiny pieces.

For a moment neither woman spoke, and then Karen went pale. “Oh, god, you’re actually serious.”

 

“Yes?” Darcy squeaked.

 

Karen pressed her hand to her forehead. “I  _ thought _ she looked like you, I just thought it was a coincidence. I didn’t think she was  _ actually _ you.” She lowered her hand and stared at Darcy for a couple more seconds. “You  _ lied _ to me,” she accused.

 

“Not technically,” Darcy said, her voice still pitched slightly high. “I mean, I didn’t know who I was when we first met.”

 

“What the hell does the even _ mean _ ?” Karen demanded.

 

Darcy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily. “Oh, god, you are going to have to sign so many NDAs.”

 

“Because you’re lying to everyone that you’re an alien when you’re  _ not _ ?” Karen asked.

 

Darcy glared at the taller woman. “No,” she said shortly. She gestured shortly. “You might as well come in and sit down.”

 

“So you can lie to me some more?” Karen accused.

 

Darcy leaned forward, poking a finger into Karen’s chest. “ _ I’m _ not the one who got a transfer in the middle of the semester without telling anyone and then left with, like, five minute’s notice, so why don’t you calm the hell down and actually  _ listen _ for once in your life?”

 

“I think I have a very valid reason to be upset!” Karen shot back, slapping Darcy’s hand away. “You’ve told the entire world that you’re an alien from another planet, but I know for a fact you were born in Philadelphia! I’ve met your parents!”

 

“And if you gave me a chance I might actually explain what was going on,” Darcy retorted. “But no, you have to fly off the handle like you always do.”

 

“I do not ‘fly off the handle,’” Karen replied defensively. “You’re the one that got bent out of shape over everything.”

 

“The only thing I got bent out of shape over was you abusing Adderall, which I never told anyone about, in case you conveniently forgot,” Darcy snapped.

 

“Yeah, well maybe your self-righteous attitude about it was why I left,” Karen snarled.

 

For a moment both women stood silently, staring at each other and slightly taken aback by the ferocity of their argument.

 

“So, I take it you two know each other,” Loki drawled from the doorway to Darcy’s office.

 

Karen jumped with a gasp but Darcy merely turned to glare at her husband. “This was a private conversation,” she told him sharply.

 

“Then maybe you should not have been letting your emotions bleed all over our bond, my dear,” Loki replied dryly. “Judging from your ire and your words, I am guessing the two of you were lovers at some point.”

 

Darcy glowered but nodded. “Remember how I told you I had a girlfriend in college? This is her. Karen Page.”

 

“Hello, Karen Page, I am Loki Odinson, Lady Sigyn’s husband,” Loki said smoothly, offering his hand to Karen.

 

“Um, hi,” she replied nervously. “Lovely to meet you, your highness.”

 

“Please, just Loki,” Loki demurred. “I am sorry that your split with Lady Sigyn was less than amicable, but could I trouble you not to refer to her by the name ‘Darcy’ in public? It belongs to an alias we would prefer no one knew about.”

 

“Alias?” Karen said weakly.

 

Darcy waved toward her office. “Come in and sit down, please, Karen,” she said stiffly. “ETTA, please send someone from legal up with the standard NDA folder.”

 

“Right away, Lady Sigyn,” ETTA said briskly.

 

“What kind of NDAs?” Karen asked suspiciously as Loki graciously escorted her into the office and to the chair in front of Darcy’s desk. 

 

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Loki assured her. “Simply ensuring that you do not spread private or sensitive information to sources that may use it to harm or undermine the embassy.”

 

“I wouldn’t do that!” Karen protested.

 

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Loki agreed, patting her arm comfortingly. “It is just a formality.”

 

Darcy rolled her eyes at the sight of her husband charming the socks off her ex and circled her desk to open the hidden drawer. She pulled out a crystal bottle of Asgardian mead and three small tumblers. The poured a miniscule amount into two of the tumblers and a generous portion into the third.

 

“Sip slowly,” she warned, pushing one of the less-filled glasses toward Karen. “It’s not meant for mortal constitutions.”

 

Karen sniffed it suspiciously before taking a cautious sip. “Oh,” she said, her eyes widening.

 

“Yeah,” Darcy said, and downed hers in one go. She braced herself for the brief rush before her system metabolized the alcohol. “Look, Karen, there is a reasonable explanation for everything.” she began, and paused. “Well, sort of reasonable. Actually, not really reasonable, but it is true.”

 

“None of that made any sense,” Karen said, shaking her head.

 

“Darcy Lewis was an alias used by my wife for a brief period while she was convalescing,” Loki said smoothly, reaching over for the bottle of mead so he could fill Karen’s glass a little fuller.

 

“Convalescing?” Karen echoed, looking slightly star-struck. Darcy resisted the urge to facepalm. Loki, when he wanted to, could be incredibly charming and could convince nearly anyone of nearly anything.

 

“From a serious injury,” Loki continued solemnly. “In fact, it had caused her to lose most of her memory.”

 

“Seriously? You’re trying to sell me an amnesia story?” Karen asked dubious, looking between Loki and Darcy.

 

Darcy kept her emotions off her face. She knew that the fewer people who knew that Lady Sigyn was also Darcy Lewis, the safer her parents and brothers would be, but she had never enjoyed lying. Loki could spin a tale easy as breathing, and she could be convincing if she used her norn-voice, but it wasn’t her first resort.

 

“Sigyn was placed with the Lewis family to facilitate her recovery in safety,” Loki continued as if Karen hadn’t interrupted. “Even as powerful as they are, the norns have enemies, and the anonymity of a human disguise gave Sigyn the chance she needed to heal and recover her memories.”

 

Karen sat silently for a moment, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Really?” she asked. “So if I call Joanne and George Lewis, they’ll corroborate this story?”

 

Since it was the backstory they’d already established when Darcy decided to go public as Lady Sigyn, she knew her parents would.

 

“Absolutely,” Loki said, nodding. “In fact, I could call Joanne now for you to speak with her, if you’d like?”

 

Karen pursed her lips together. “I can contact Mrs Lewis on my own, thank you,” she said shortly. She looked over at Darcy. “You really lost your memories?”

 

Darcy nodded. It wasn’t technically  _ untrue _ , it just wasn’t the whole truth. “I really did. For a long time. I thought I was as human as you are.”

 

Karen’s expression cleared, just a little bit. “What happened?” she asked, genuinely curious now.

 

“Someone tried to kill me,” Darcy told her. 

 

“What?” Karen exclaimed. “Why?”

 

Darcy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had known it was only a matter of time before their carefully concocted half-true backstory would come into play. She just really wished it wasn’t her ex-girlfriend who was digging into the story.

 

“My oldest sister, the Eldest norn,” Darcy said, lowering her hand. “She went a little crazy. You have to realize, she was very, very old. The oldest living thing in the universe. She had watched higher life forms evolve all over the universe. She was witness to every conflict, every war, every famine, natural disaster, and extinction event. All of that pain and death… she wanted it to end. But she went about it the wrong way. I found out what she was up to, and she didn’t take kindly to me meddling in her plans.”

 

Darcy shrugged and sighed again. “So she tried to have me killed. I survived, obviously, but my other sisters wanted to know why I’d been targeted. They grew suspicious of Skuld, the Eldest, and hid me on Midgard to keep me safe. The Darcy Lewis identity was concocted to keep me safe until I was fully recovered.”

 

“Do you mind if I just…” Karen leaned down to dig in her bag she’d placed on the floor and came up with a pen and a small notepad. She began scribbling furiously in a shorthand Darcy recognized as the one Karen had come up with herself.

 

Darcy exchanged a look with Loki. He was sly, satisfied that Karen had taken the bait. Darcy glanced away quickly. Her cell phone vibrated on her desk a half second before ETTA began speaking overhead. “Lady Sigyn, Mr Stark is calling to speak with you and Prince Loki.”

 

Darcy resisted the urge to sigh in relief and picked up her phone. “I’m sorry, Karen, can we just take this? It might be urgent.”

 

“Mr Stark says it  _ is _ urgent, Lady Sigyn,” ETTA added.

 

“Thank you, ETTA,” Darcy said, and gave Karen an apologetic smile.

 

“I’ll just wait outside,” Karen said, and got to her feet, still writing in her notebook. As soon as the door closed behind her, Darcy answered the phone and put it on speaker.

 

“Tony, it’s Darcy, how can we help?”

 

_ “Why do you assume I need help?” _ Tony replied, sounding annoyed.

 

“Because if it was a social call, it would be Pepper calling,” Darcy answered dryly.

 

_ “Yeah, okay, fine,” _ Tony admitted.  _ “Quick question. That thing you guys can do that you understand everyone’s native language. What do you call it? Alltalk?” _

 

“Allspeak,” Loki corrected, rubbing his eyes. “What of it?”

 

_ “It works on languages not from earth, right?” _

 

Darcy frowned. “What is going on, Tony?”

 

_ “Yeah, so I’m at NATO and about six hours ago they started receiving communications over several military radio channels from an unknown source, and now they’re pick up two possible spaceships orbiting the moon.” _

 

It took Darcy a minute to process the run on sentence. “NATO’s been contacted by aliens orbiting the moon?” she echoed.

 

_ “Yeah,” _ Tony replied succinctly.  _ “I’ve already got a helicopter enroute to pick you up.” _

 

“Okay,” Darcy said, getting to her feet. “Have you called any of the others?”

 

_ “Just Sam and Steve. Romanoff's off the grid again and Barton’s still on paternity leave.” _

 

“Right,” Darcy said. “Okay. We’ll be ready as soon as the helicopter arrives.”

 

_ “Cool. Oh, by the way, the chopper is a hundred percent automated so don’t be alarmed, you know, if there’s no pilot.” _

 

Darcy fished ETTA’s earpiece out of her pocket and inserted it back into place. “Okay, fine, whatever. We’ll be there.”

 

_ “Awesome. Thanks. Bye!” _

 

Loki gave Darcy a skeptical look. “Alien spaceships orbiting the moon?” he asked. “That is...unusual.” 

 

“You’re so talented at understatement, babe.” Darcy said, slipping her phone in the pocket she’d just dug her earpiece out of. “ETTA, please have Sif and Darius meet us in the courtyard and tell Brenna we will not be joining the children for dinner.”

 

“ETTA, please also have Hela meet us in the courtyard,” Loki added.

 

“Right away, Lady Sigyn, Prince Loki,” ETTA replied, her voice no-nonsense.

 

“So what’s the over-under on random alien spaceships being here to conquer the planet?” Darcy asked as Loki helped her shrug into her suit coat.

 

“With just two ships? I would not take those odds,” Loki said. “And I would know.”

 

Darcy stuck her tongue out at her husband and crossed over to the door. Karen looked up from where she had taken a seat. “Hey, sorry about this but something came up and we really have to go. I wouldn’t bail on you but it’s important.”

 

Karen’s expression was guarded. “Okay. When can I come back for a follow up interview?”

 

“You have an opening on Friday at 3:15pm,” ETTA spoke in Darcy’s ear.

 

“Quarter past 3 on Friday,” Darcy said confidently. She offered her hand to shake. “I’m sorry that I upset you. It was never my intention.”

 

Karen nodded, her eyes never leaving Darcy’s face. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll see you Friday.” She tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and strode out of the waiting room, leaving Darcy staring forlornly after her.

 

“ _ Faen, _ ” she muttered under her breath.

 

Loki paused at her side and touched her arm. “You know it is necessary,  _ elskede _ ,” he told her quietly.

 

“I know,” Darcy said louder, squaring her shoulders. “Okay. Let’s go see what the aliens want.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

Steve, Sam, and Tony were waiting for them on the helipad at the undisclosed NATO location, along with a very harried-looking black man in an American military uniform. Loki helped Darcy out of the helicopter as she was still wearing her heels, while Darius, Sif, and Hela disembarked with more ease.

 

“Why’d you bring the kid?” Tony demanded, his suspicious brown eyes resting on Hela.

 

“Because she can learn from this situation,” Loki replied neutrally.

 

Darcy glanced back at Hela, who was glaring narrow-eyed at Tony. In the time she had been at the embassy, she had made zero effort to improve the Avengers’ opinion of her, instead choosing to spend most of her free time with her half-brothers and adopted sisters, who all adored her.

 

Steve shouldered past Tony with an exasperated expression. “Thanks for coming short notice,” he said, leaning down to embrace Darcy.

 

“No problem,” Darcy replied, hugging him back. “But I swear you guys are the reason for all my gray hairs.”

 

“You have no gray hair,” Steve told her, stepping back. “Who’s your new friend?” he asked, glancing at Darius.

 

“Darius Miller,” Darcy introduced. “He’s Loki’s new PA.”

 

“Steve Rogers,” Steve introduced, holding out his hand.

 

Darius managed a sort of squeaky grunt, and put his hand in Steve’s. Darius wasn’t necessarily short, but he was completely dwarfed by Steve, who was built like a brick wall. Steve smiled faintly and released him.

 

“This is General MacNeill,” Steve introduced. “He’s been placed in charge of our little situation.”

 

MacNeill smiled tightly without humor. “I’m glad you can take this incident lightly, Captain,” he said dryly. “Unfortunately we don’t have your optimism. Seeing as our last large-scale encounter with an alien race resulted in wide-scale destruction, we are exercising a fair amount of caution.”

 

Darcy felt Loki flinch at her side but she did not react. Neither did Sif, who was standing on Loki’s other side. Darcy gestured. “Shall we?”

 

The general nodded sharply and turned on his heel to lead them toward the building. Darcy glanced backward and saw Sif carefully noting the security measures, guards, and a hundred other things that Darcy wouldn’t have thought to look for.

 

The room they were taken to was several stories underground, dimly lit by the vast number of screens displaying various data. On the largest screen, Darcy could see a close-up image of the two ships. They were clearly from two separate species, with two very distinct styles of technology. She glanced up at Loki.

 

“Recognize either of them?” she asked in a low voice.

 

“That one,” Loki replied, pointing to the ship on the left. “That ship is Vyrkyriyr, from Vyxkyryn. The other I don’t know.”

 

“So you’ve had contact with these...Verkyrior?” General MacNeill asked, stumbling over the unfamiliar name.

 

“Not personally, but my father has,” Loki replied, not bothering to correct his pronunciation. “They requested to open trading with the Nine Realms, but the Alfather refused.”

 

“Why?” Tony demanded.

 

“Because they preyed on and ate the the other sapient species native to their planet, the Xivi,” Loki explained. “A few centuries after the Vyrkyriyr applied for trading rights, the Xivi sent a delegate to Asgard requesting aid. The Alfather approved use of the Bifrost to move the entire species to a habitable planet in a different solar system.”

 

“I can’t imagine that made these fellas happy,” Tony said, waving at the screen. “Not that I’m condoning cannibalism, which, ew.”

 

“Not cannibalism,” Darcy said, peering at the unidentified spacecraft. “Different species. Can we hear the transmissions?”

 

General MacNeill, who did not look happy at the prospect of being confronted by an overtly predatory alien species, startled and then stepped toward a workstation. “Play both transmissions,” he instructed the uniformed woman sitting there.

 

The woman typed a few keys, and the first transmission started playing. “Greetings, children of Green Planet,” spoke a melodious voice. “We are the Moon Seekers. Our presence here is no cause for alarm. We wish open comunion with your people. Do not fear us, we are not warriors. Let us join together in the pursuit of peace.”

 

“Moon Seekers,” Darcy echoed, being sure to use the word from the transmission. “That’s what the Fere’aei call themselves, I think.”

 

“You think?” General MacNeil asked, raising his eyebrows. “Who are these Ferry-aye and what do they want with earth?”

 

“Fere’aei,” Darcy corrected absently, tapping her finger on her lips. “I think I visited their planet, like, a million years ago.”

 

“Literally or figuratively?” Steve asked with a straight face.

 

Sam chuckled, then caught sight of Steve’s expression. “Wait, really? A million years ago?”

 

Darcy nodded. “Maybe just over a million years. give or take a few thousand. They definitely hadn’t evolved far enough for space travel.”

 

Hela, who had been trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, sighed heavily and then raised her hand like a schoolchild. Loki blinked a few times at the teenager, no doubt trying to figure out where she had learned the gesture, as it was not used on Asgard.

 

“Yes, Hela?” he said after a moment.

 

“That vessel is Fere’aei,” she said in a soft voice. “But not from their native planet. That vessel is from their colony on Akass’i, and so is the Vyrkyriyr ship.”

 

“How would you know that?” Tony demanded suspiciously, giving the teenager a dark look.

 

Hela sighed again. “I lived on Akass’i for thirty-seven solar cycles. There are four major colonies on that planet, but the Fere’aei and the Vyrkyriyr have the largest ones. They have been competing for space and resources for the last three hundred or so years.”

 

For a moment everyone stared at Hela, who glared back at all of them and crossed her arms over her chest.

 

“Thank you, Hela,” Loki said, and gestured at the woman. “Please play the second transmission.”

 

The voice that emanated from the speakers could not have possible come from a mouth and throat anything similar to a human’s. It was full of clicks, grunts, and glottal stops, punctuated rarely by actual consonants and vowels.

 

“Earth-dwellers. We are the Ones Who Run. We seek mediation from the one called the norn. answer promptly.”

 

Darcy’s head snapped around so she could stare at Loki, her eyes wide. “Mediation?” she asked. “They want mediation?”

 

“Maybe you wanna translate for us?” Tony prompted.

 

Darcy gestured vaguely. “The first one was a general introduction from the Fere’aei. Their version of ‘We come in peace.’ The second transmission is from the Vyrkyriyr. They say they are here for mediation.”

 

“Mediation from who? Humans?” General MacNeill demanded.

 

“No,” Darcy said, shaking her head. “From me.”

 

XxxXxxX

 

It was one thing to show up to a small, underdeveloped planet and ask for mediation from the norn living on said planet, and an entirely different thing to  _ actually _ get mediation. Using Loki as a translator, the Secretary General and the Military Committee of NATO spent a week talking to both alien parties. Darcy appeared before the NATO Military Committee three times over that week, trying to convince them why she should be allowed to handle negotiations between the alien parties by herself (IF they were even allowed to remain). A hundred different scenarios were suggested, and a hundred were turned down.

 

Eventually what was decided was this:

 

Under no circumstances was the general public to know about the alien visitors. Knowledge of the ships’ presence was confined solely to NATO. Resolution of the incident would likewise be contained to NATO. Heads of governments of NATO countries were informed, but none of them were permitted to actually be present.

 

Stark Industries provided a retrofitted Mobile Oceanic Research Station located 90 miles off the coast of California. The MORS was then surrounded by ships provided from several NATO countries, and staffed exclusively by NATO personnel. The MORS itself contained a barracks, a laboratory, a mess hall, and recreation center, all of which was removed in favor of an enlarged landing pad, a communications center, and the actual conference center where the mediation would be held.

 

General MacNeill was decidedly not happy upon being told that no weapons would be allowed anywhere on the MORS during the mediation, as per the ancient rule of the norns. The Secretary General of NATO nearly scrapped the whole plan when he heard that, but Loki and Sif informed him of the consequences should that particular rule be violated, and he reluctantly agreed, but only after being assured that Loki, Sif, Captain Rogers, and several of Loki’s Asgardian security team would be present as Darcy’s honor guard.

 

Only a single representative from each alien ship would be permitted onto the MORS at a time, and only for ten hours per day. They would go through a decontamination process upon arrival each and every time, and would remain in a restricted part of the MORS. They would have no contact with anyone except Darcy, her honor guard, and the NATO representatives.

 

The visitors would have precisely ten days, at the end of which they would leave, regardless of whether they had reached a resolution or not.

 

Neither the Fere’aei nor the Vyrkyriyr were especially pleased with the terms, and only agreed after Darcy herself spoke to them, assuring them that the terms had her blessing. So, at the end of a very busy and stressful week, Darcy found herself standing on the edge of a landing pad on a large platform in the middle of the Pacific ocean with Loki on her right, and Steve on her left. They were all dressed to the nines in their respective uniforms: Steve as Captain America, Loki in his armor, and Darcy in a simply white shift and a long purple tunic. 

 

The salty ocean wind tugged loose strands of her hair from the intricate braids Brenna had plaited that morning, something Darcy was sincerely grateful for now, because it simply wouldn’t do for her to appear as a mediator with wind-swept hair. 

 

Behind them stood Sif and the Asgardian guards, and behind them were the NATO personnel. And at the very back stood Angela and Darius, the former of whom had begged to be there, and the latter had begged to not. Alas, Darius’ pleas were ignored, and he had been told firmly that yes, this was in his job description, and yes, this did count for danger pay.

 

Darcy shielded her eyes with her hand, craning her neck back to scan the blue sky overhead.

 

“There,” Steve said, pointing out a small black speck with a contrail.

 

“Are you sure?” Darcy asked. “Could be an airplane.”

 

“It’s a bird, it’s a plane,” Tony said in a sing-song behind Steve, because of course he was going to be there. He was an Avenger, dammit.

 

“That is the Fere’aei landing pod,” Loki confirmed. He had no need to shade his eyes as he scanned the cloudless sky. His pupils contracted far too narrow to be human, down to tiny points of black in pale green. “The Vyrkyriyr is just behind them.”

 

“About time,” Tony grumbled. “Let’s get this party started. Can you smell how much salt is in this breeze? It’s not good for my complexion. Salt ages you, you know.”

 

“I dunno, saltwater did a pretty good job of keeping me young,” Steve replied with a straight face. 

 

Darcy snorted indelicately and rubbed her nose. “In any case, it’s playing havoc with my sinuses,” she complained. “I need to go inside.”

 

“ _ Mortals _ ,” Loki said in an aggrieved voice.

 

“ _ Excuse _ me?” Darcy asked, pretending indignance. “Watch who you’re calling the ‘M’ word, there,  _ angan _ .”

 

Loki gave her an exasperated but fond look and went back to staring at the approaching spacecraft.

 

“So...have they given you any idea on what they need madiation  _ about _ ?”

 

“I assume it’s like Hela said,” Darcy replied. “Shrinking resources and remaining habitable land on Akass’i.”

 

“And they had to come all the way to earth to have you mediate that?” Tony asked skeptically. “Why bother? Couldn’t they have just duked it out on their own planet and left us alone?”

 

“ _ Clearly _ they are attempting a non-violent solution,” Loki murmured. “However, we have no idea the conditions on Akass’i. It’s possible this is their solution after decades of war. We just don’t know.”

 

“Well, hopefully they don’t get any smart ideas of bringing their baggage here,” Tony said. “Because the last thing we need is a bunch of aliens invading our planet searching for some ancient, powerful artifact.”

 

Darcy glanced at her husband, but he didn’t visibly react. 

 

“Real smooth, Tony,”Steve said sarcastically from Darcy’s other side.

 

“I’m just  _ saying _ ,” Tony protested.

 

“Silence,” Loki ordered.

 

The landing pods were close now, close enough to hear their engines, to make out the difference in construction styles. They were each about the size of a schoolbus, and would both easily fit on the landing pad. Darcy folded her hands in front of her and practiced her serene expression as the pods landed. Behind them she could hear the murmurs of the NATO soldiers, and she could sense the tension in the air. 

 

The Vyrkyriyr pod opened first, and for a moment there was dead silence, then the alien appeared in the doorway. It was impossible to determine the alien’s gender at a casual glance as the species had five genders, and none of them had external secondary gender characteristics.

 

The alien was easily over six and a half feet tall, with long, thin gangly limbs covered in slick, grayish chitin. Its torso was covered in intricate plate armor that appeared to be made of the same material, and in a way, it was. The Vyrkyriyr had broad, rounded shoulders, a slender neck, and a round head with a flat face that consisted of two large, faceted eyes, a triangular, beaky nose, and a lipless mouth mostly shielded by a pair of insect-like mouthpieces that twitched and quivered constantly.

 

Its armor was painted bright and clashing colors in an intricate pattern which, according to Hela, denoted its name, rank, status, and city of origin. As far as Darcy could tell, this particular Vyrkyriyr was a high-ranking political figure. Apart from that, she couldn’t make anything else out.

 

“Ugly son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Tony muttered.

 

“That is not a male,” Loki said quietly. “I would advise against referring to xer as such.”

 

“That’s a female?” Tony asked in disbelief.

 

“No,” Loki corrected. “Xe is not a male.”

 

“I don’t get it,” Tony said plaintively.

 

“Don’t worry about it, xe doesn’t understand English,” Darcy said quickly.

 

The Vyrkyriyr remained where xe was at the entrance to xer landing pod, xer head rotating side to side as it scanned the MORS. When the Fere’aei pod opened like a flower blossoming, xe began to walk toward the other pod.

 

The Fere’aei representative was female, Darcy noted, which meant she was either very young, or past middle age. She stood a hair under six feet tall, with dark purple-black skin that looked velvety soft. Her body was stocky and muscular, and her sheer, layered clothing was specifically designed to show it off. Her wide-set eyes were dark gray, with large pupils and long lashes. Her mouth and nose were rather snout-like, and a pair of glossy black horns curved up to razor-sharp points above her folded, triangular ears. Gold freckles dusted her arms, neck and face, and two white canines protruded from her upper lip.

 

The Fere’aei greeted the Vyrkyriyr with a curt nod and a gesture with gold-tipped fingers. The Vyrkyriyr returned the gesture with long, multi jointed digits and a series of clicks from xer mouthpieces. Then the two of them approached Darcy, side by side. They stopped a few paces away, and Darcy drew herself up to her full height, feeling rather dwarfed by everyone around her (except Tony). 

 

“I am Lady Sigyn of the Sisterhood of the Norns, Mother of the Ways and Host of Ragnarok,” Darcy announced in a clear voice.

 

The Fere’aie tilted her head back and to the right, a submissive gesture, if Darcy remembered correctly. “I am the One Born Under the Last Winter Moon, Witness-Speaker for the Moon Seekers of Akass’i,” she introduced.

 

“I am Tall of Hive Seven of the Ones Who Run from Akass’i,” the Vyrkyriyr said curtly.

 

Behind Darcy, she could hear Sif speaking quietly into a radio that all the humans present could hear, translating the words of the visitors.

 

“Tall? Really?” Tony muttered. “It’s name is ‘ _ Tall _ ’?”

 

Darcy saw Steve move out of the corner of her eye, and then Tony grunted painfully.

 

“On behalf of the human race, welcome to earth,” Steve announced as if nothing had happened. This time, Loki translated. “We are happy to host both of you while you seek mediation from our friend, Lady Sigyn.”

 

The One Born Under The Last Winter Moon repeated the submissive gesture towards Steve. “We appreciate the hospitality of the children of Green Planet. We understand you could have refused our request and we are grateful.”

 

“Agreed,” clicked Tall, who seemed to be a Vyrkyriyr of few words.

 

Darcy spread her hands. “I am honored that you chose me to be your mediator, and I am happy to be of service to both your peoples. Please forgive us a few formalities, and we will get our mediation underway.”

 

“Yes,” said The One Born Under The Last Winter Moon. “I understand the children of Green Planet are worried about foreign microorganisms?”

 

“Humans have rather sensitive immune systems,” Darcy explained. “We do not want to introduce a hostile bacteria to our ecosystem.”

 

“Understandable,” said Tall, though Xer tone sounded impatient. “Show us the way.”

 

“Please follow the captain of my honor guard, the Lady Sif of Asgard,” Darcy said, gesturing to Sif, who stepped forward. Once the alien dignitaries were enroute to decontamination with Sif and a squad of NATO soldiers, Darcy let herself relax.

 

“They… didn’t look like I expected,” Steve admitted.

 

“What were you expecting, Captain?” Loki asked dryly.

 

“Well, it’s not like  _ you _ look all that different from us,” Steve said defensively.

 

“In  _ this _ form,” Loki said darkly.

 

“Do we have to call her The One Born Under The Last Winter Moon, like,  _ every _ time, or does she have a nickname or something?” Tony asked. “Because that’s kind of a mouthful. Like, how are you supposed to get her attention from across the room? What if you’re in a hurry? Can we just call her Moon or something?”

 

“Shortening her name without her approval would be the equivalent of denying the fact she’s a person,” Darcy explained. “And it’s not something you can ask. If she offers a short name, that’s fine, but you don’t ask up front.”

 

“Okay, right. Don’t insult the alien dignitaries, got it,” Tony said, shaking his head. “Glad I’m not the one who has to talk to them.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Darcy said sarcastically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Humans are not able to correctly pronounce the alien visitors' species names, but this is as close as we can get:
> 
> Fere'aei: fair-eh-eye-ee
> 
> Vyrkyriyr: veer-keer-ear
> 
> Akass'i: ah-kas-ee


End file.
